


Just Say The Word

by darkpanda22



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter, Alternate Universe - Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter Record Label, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I'll add them as I go - Freeform, M/M, One Shot Collection, One Word Prompts, Ray sings, Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter Hybrids, Slow To Update, Song Lyrics, Talent Shows, and other rt employees
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 09:27:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4741271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkpanda22/pseuds/darkpanda22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a collection of one shots to help me learn some new words! It'll go back and forth between Mavin and Joelay and sometimes there will be both!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gigil

 

**Gigil**

**(n.) The urge to pinch or squeeze something that is unbearably cute.**

 

~-~

 

It started when Gavin was really young. He'd got cat for his birthday and found it to be the cutest thing he'd ever seen. His parents were surprised when he picked up the cat and proceeded to squeeze it gently, hugging it close where ever he went. Every time he'd find something that he thought was cute he'd squeeze it close to himself. They thought he'd grow out of it but it only got worse the older he got. Gavin had a hard time resisting the urge to squeeze cute things even after he moved to the states for Rooster Teeth. Though, he was relieved to find that there was not an abundance of cute things in Austin, Texas. In fact, he forgot he had the weird urges as there was nothing he considered cute around.

 

Then, Michael Jones got hired at Rooster Teeth.

 

When he first met him, Gavin thought he was kinda loud but funny. He was nice, even sometimes when he was yelling and they were immediately friends. The first time he got the urge was in the middle of a recording. It was the first time they had teamed up in Minecraft and Gavin was excited, admittedly. They had been recording for a little bit when Ryan started attacking him out of nowhere. He started squawking, yelling out for Michael to save him and seconds later Ryan was slain by Michael.

 

"Thanks, Mi-cool!"

 

Michael had turned to him and smiled wide, showing off his dimples "No problem, Gav. You're my boi!"

 

And Gavin forgot how to breathe as the overwhelming urge to squeeze Michael into a hug overtook him. After that, it seemed to happen every time Michael would smile so big his dimples surfaced and slowly it grew.

 

Then, it was every time he wouldn't wear a beanie, his curls falling all over the place. Gavin would find himself staring at them, wanting to run his fingers through them and play with them.

 

Then it was the way his freckles sat so perfectly on his face, running down his neck and onto his back. (It was hard to not squeeze his face into Michael's back every time they went swimming, but Gavin did his best to keep his distance.)

 

Then, every time Michael was nice to him or showed that he cared about him in one way or another, he want to squeeze him close.

 

Every time he'd come to his rescue in Minecraft, every time he'd say "You're my boi, Gav!", Every time Gavin joked with him and made him laugh; everything he did seemed to make Gavin want to squeeze him and soon enough a warm fuzzy feeling would sit in his stomach every time he saw Michael.

 

It wasn't too long after that that someone noticed Gavin's behavior. That person being Geoff, and Gavin was hesitant to explain his reasons for suddenly leaving the room or staring at Michael more times than he could count. But he finally did and Geoff had just smirked at him knowingly, like he knew something that Gavin didn't.

 

"So...this means you think Michael's cute?" Gavin looked away and Geoff couldn't help but smile. "Tell him you like him. Just don't f*ck in the office." Geoff walked away, leaving Gavin gaping at his back and blushing bright red. He didn't think he liked Michael, he just found him cute..right? But the thought stayed in his head. He did like spending time with Michael and he always felt so much happier whenever he was around. He didn't realize Geoff was right until he found himself staring at Michael's lips, wondering how it would feel to kiss him. So, he told himself he would tell Michael. It took a few more weeks but Gavin finally worked up the courage to talk to Michael about it.

 

"Hey Michael?"

 

"Yeah, Gav?"

 

Gavin felt his heart thump faster in his chest. "Can I talk to you after work?"

 

"Yeah, sure. Everything okay?"

 

The urge returned and Gavin took a deep breathe to stop the twitch in his hands. "Y-yeah. I uh- just want to talk to you about something."

 

Michael raised a brow, not believing that he was fine but nodding "Well, alright."

 

Gavin smiled and turned back to his computer as Michael did the same. Geoff smirked at the two before going back to his editing as well.

 

A while later, Michael and Gavin sat alone in the Achievement Hunter office.

 

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

 

Gavin gulped. This was it. He had to tell Michael about how he felt. "I- Well..I'll start from the beginning." And he did. He told Michael about his weird urge to squeeze things he found cute and Michael raised a brow at him.

 

"Okay..So, what does that have to do with me?"

 

"Well. Michael I- I find _you_ cute..I uh really like you."

 

Michael's eyes widened and he blinked at Gavin, a look of disbelief on his face.

 

"You- You think I’m cute? And- You like me?"

 

Gavin looked down at his hands and nodded. There was a long moment of silence and the longer it stretched the more he wanted to cry. But then, his face was being lifted slowly so he was looking at Michael again and he gasped when Michael was smiling so big his dimples were showing. Gavin returned the smile and Michael pulled him into a sweet kiss. It was like nothing Gavin could've imagined and when they parted Gavin finally gave into his urges, squeezing his face into the crook of Michael's neck as he hugged him close.

 

"I like you too, Gav."

 

~-~

 


	2. Latibule

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joelay~!

 

 

Latibule

(n.) A hiding place; a place of safety and comfort.

 

 

~-~

 

 

Ray was always a quiet person. He liked to talk to his friends but he always need some time to recharge from the mental stress of being social. He often wondered how he even got friends when he was so quiet but he knew that had it not been for Youtube and Rooster Teeth, he wouldn't have the amazing group of friends he had today. He loved his job, don't get him wrong, but sometimes he needed to just get away. When that happened, he'd walk the short way home and stay there until their lunch break was over. It was common not to find Ray around during lunch most days and they guys knew not to mess with Ray when he was away. He was just one of those people that had to retreat into hiding for at least an hour when he was surrounded by people for a long time. Everyone was fine with it as far as Ray knew, but he hated to leave in the middle of hanging out to sit in his room alone but it was just something he needed to be able to function properly. His days went smoothly when he took a break from socializing.

 

 

But one day, Ray couldn't leave.

 

 

They had gotten busy and off schedule. They had recorded through the time where Ray would normally leave to be alone and Ray started to get quieter and quieter as the recording dragged on. He felt so drained and suddenly talking took too much energy to do. And to make matters worse, they had one more video to record after this one ended and they would glance at him every now and then, hoping he was alright. But the more Ray sat there the more the walls seemed to close in on him. There were too many people in the room. Too much noise. His head was swimming and suddenly it was hard to breathe. He heard a shout but he couldn't make out the words as he curled into a ball in his chair, shaking slightly. He couldn't concentrate on anything, his world was spinning and he was breathing faster. He only saw fuzzy images and colors and the yelling around him increased. Then all he could see was black. The noise quickly died down as Ray realized there were arms around him and slowly, the comforting warmth from whoever was holding him made his breathing slow back to normal. Then he could clearly make out a plain black shirt covering a fit chest. He blinked and looked up at whoever he was sitting in the lap of and found his boyfriend, Joel, looking down at him in concern.

 

 

"Are you alright, Ray?"

 

 

Ray looked at him for a moment before he nodded not really trusting his voice. He looked back down and buried his head against Joel's chest.

 

 

"What happened?"

 

 

"I-" Ray cleared his throat, coughing a little at how dry it had become before he continued. "I didn't t-take a break, today.."

 

 

Joel frowned and hugged him closer "Why not? You scared the sh*t out of everyone, especially me."

 

 

Ray frowned and looked back up at Joel "I'm sorry..We got behind on schedule so I couldn't leave.."

 

 

Joel leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead, sighing a bit afterwards. They fell into silence again for a long while and Ray realized a few things as he was held by his boyfriend, the warmth making him feel more comfortable and safe than his actual home just down the road.

 

 

"Joel?"

 

 

"Yeah, Ray?"

 

 

"I don't think I'll go back home for a break from now on."

 

 

"What? But you just-"

 

 

Ray cut him off with a soft smile as he sat up and leaned his forehead on Joel's.

 

 

"Because you're the only safe haven I need."

 

 

Joel blinked twice before he smiled wide and pulled Ray into a kiss.

 

 

"That was so cheesy."

 

 

Joel mumbled, a small smile on his face and Ray just beamed.

 

 

"You know you love it."

 

 

Joel chuckled and hugged Ray a little tighter.

 

 

"No, I love _you_."

 

 

Ray smiled as he made himself more comfortable in Joel's lap.

 

 

"I love you too."

 

 


	3. Pluviophile

 

 

Pluviophile

(n.) A lover of rain; someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days.

 

 

~-~

 

 

Michael always loved the rain. Most would think he would love the sun more but there was something about the sound of rain pounding on his rooftop on an otherwise quiet night that made him ease into his bed more comfortably. To see the trails of water through his window and know that the rain was cleaning the air, all the impurities falling to the ground, leaving behind that clear and clean smell that only came after it rained. He loved to curl up by the window and just watch the rain fall, listening to the patters of the rain hitting his roof. He wanted so badly to be able to share his love of the rain with someone, to just hold them as they watched the rain fall together. Sometimes he even got the urge to run out and stand in the rain, to just become one with the weather and feel it cleaning him like it would the air. Cleaning all his frustrations and problems away until he was calm again. The rain was always there to make him stop and look around, to remind him to appreciate the world around him. If it weren’t for the rain, Michael was sure he’d never truly be able to unwind.

 

 

But, he made sure to keep it from the guys. He didn’t think they’d take him seriously if he told them so he kept it to himself. He made sure to not think about the rain at the office, and if it did rain, he’d excuse himself from the room and just sit and stare out the small window in the bathroom until there was a knock at the door. It was something he got used too, and he didn’t feel the need to ever tell anyone about it.

 

 

Then, Gavin Free found out.

 

 

It happened when Michael had to stay late to edit. He was in the middle of Rage Quit when he heard the pounding over his own screaming in his ears. He had smiled and scooted his chair over to the closest window, leaning back as he watched the rain fall. He hadn’t heard Gavin when he walked in, still in the office because of the same reason as Michael. Michael didn’t notice when Gavin blinked and stared at him. Gavin didn’t speak, not wanting to break the comfortable silence. Though, he did step forward and placed a hand on Michael’s shoulder, staring out at the rain himself. Michael had jumped and whipped his head up at Gavin but blinked when he saw Gavin was looking at the rain too. He looked at Gavin for a moment, taking in the small smile on his face as he watched the rain, so Michael smiled and looked back at the rain. The two stayed there for a long while, watching the rain in a calming atmosphere, not once looking at each other but knowing that they had a mutual understanding to not share this moment with anyone. After the rain slowed, they packed up their things and went their separate ways, their thoughts full of each other and the rain.

 

 

They didn’t talk about it. Gavin thought they would at least talk to each other about it but Michael didn’t want to talk to him about it at all. They ignored that moment for months, both of them thinking of the other when it rained and slowly they realized they were thinking about each other every week, every day, every minute, every second.

 

 

Michael wanted nothing more than to be with Gavin, to share not only his love for the rain but his new found love for Gavin, with him. It was driving him crazy and suddenly the rain couldn’t help him. Suddenly the rain reminded him of Gavin and the pain of hidden feelings. Suddenly it rained every day, no not just outside, but inside, down Michael’s face. Suddenly he was his own rain cloud and no one could dry the water but Gavin.

 

 

~-~ 

 

 

It was one of those nights when Michael got a knock at the door.

 

 

It was raining on the inside and outside, and Michael was wrapped up in a blanket watching the rain fall, feeling the cold loneliness settle into his heart. He sighed and stood, not bothering to dry the tears as he clutched the blanket tighter and answered the door. He didn’t know who he expected to be at the door but he didn’t expect Gavin to be standing there.

 

 

“G-gavin? W-what are you doing here?”

 

 

“Something I should’ve done a while ago.”

 

 

And before Michael could speak there was a hand on the back of his neck and then there were lips on his and Michael couldn’t think. It only took a second for Michael to relax and drop the blanket, wrapping his arms around Gavin's waist, kissing back just a passionately as Gavin was. And right there in the rain, Gavin pulled back from the kiss to whisper,

 

 

“I love you, Michael.”

 

 

Michael smiled and suddenly, his rain was right here in front of him and he leaned forward to whisper in return,

 

 

“I love you too, Gavin.”

 

 

They smiled at each other and Michael pulled Gavin back into another kiss as the rain fell harder all around them. 

 

 

~-~

 

 


	4. Eleutheromania

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hybrid Joelay! I really wanted Ray to be a panda so here we go! This one is a little longer than the other ones so yeah. Enjoy!

 

 

**Eleutheromania**

**(n.) An intense and irresistible desire for freedom.**

 

 

~-~

 

 

Ray pushed himself harder as the lights from the helicopters shined overhead. ‘Run faster, go faster!’ He screamed at himself as his panda ears tried to get closer to his head. He was screwed. He had to get away, they were gaining on him. He couldn’t go to the haven and risk them finding the other hybrids and all his friends holed up in one place. He just come out to get some more water and now he was being chased by government officials. He’d heard all the stories about the tests they did in the labs and like hell was he going there voluntarily. He pumped his legs faster, using his animal attributes as he dropped down to all fours, running faster to try and shake the two choppers. He was doing well until he felt a pain in his neck and then he was falling, rolling to the ground as the dart started to work. He groaned and tried so hard to fight the medicine induced sleep that was creeping up on him but it was no use. The last thing he saw was the chopper landing a few feet away from him then everything went black.

 

 

When he woke, he was in a cage, in between two other bear hybrids. They were both asleep so he guessed it was the middle of the night with how dark it was. He didn’t know how long he had been out but he needed to leave, he had to escape. His friends were waiting for him to come back and he couldn’t let them think he was dead. The metal of the cage was hard and he couldn’t break through the bars, even going so far as to try and gnaw on the metal but his teeth didn’t even make a dent.

 

 

“There’s no getting out of here.”

 

 

The voice made Ray jump and he blinked as he looked over to his left. One of the bears had awakened and it took Ray minute to realize what he said.

 

 

“But I can’t stay here. My friends are waiting for me. There has to be some way.”

 

 

The bear hybrid shook his head.

 

 

“Sorry, dude. I’ve been trying for years. We’re stuck here.”

 

 

Ray frowned,

 

 

“No. No I need to get out. I-“

 

 

“Trust me. If I had a way out, I’d be gone but nothing works. I’m sorry, dude.”

 

 

Ray felt tears well up in his eyes and he pressed himself into the back corner of the cage, curled up in a ball with his back facing the front of the cage, and cried as quietly as he could. What was he supposed to say to that? How was he supposed to cope with the thought that there was no escape? How was he supposed to give up hope when he just got here? How was he supposed to think that his friends weren’t coming to rescue him? They were the Hunters, searching for facilities like this to free hybrids and this hybrid was telling him that he’d been here for years with no thought of escape. He just had to hold out and they would come, right? Right. He just had to wait. He could do this. He could wait.

 

 

~-~

 

 

It became a routine of sorts for Ray. Every test, every disgusting meal, every beating, every injection; he got through it all with the thought that his friends were coming. Adam, the cinnamon bear hybrid that had talked to him the first night, and Matt, the sloth bear hybrid to the right, became good friends to Ray. They’d always warn him about hoping someone would save them as he was getting his hopes up for nothing but Ray continued to believe. He continued to believe even when days turned to weeks and the weeks turned to months but when it passed a year, he began to doubt. Everything got more difficult for Ray to handle, he’d cry himself to sleep every night, wanting nothing more than to be free. It started to consume him. The want to be free started to make all of it too much to handle. The more he thought about those back at the haven, the more he wanted to claw his way back. He thought about Joel, the jumpy fox hybrid that he spent most of his time with and the longer he sat in that cell the more he wanted to see him again. He missed Joel more than anything and it scared him how being away from him was making him realize his true feelings for him. It scared him how long he’d had these feeling but they had been buried deep within himself. It scared him that Joel may not even feel the same. And more importantly, it scared him that he’d never see him again. He just wanted to kiss him, hug him, and tell him that he loves him and how he never wants to be away from him again. It just added to the load. Now he didn’t talk much to Adam and Matt, and they knew that Ray was falling into a pit of depression. They could only watch as the young panda hybrid cried himself to sleep every night, longing whispers and whimpers of the name ‘Joel’ falling from his lips more times than they could count.

 

 

~-~

 

 

But one night, everything changed.

 

 

Ray was curled up in the back of his cage when there was footsteps walking down the hall. He hoped it wouldn’t be him they were looking for but the sound of his cage unlocking and a rough hand on his collar made him curse internally. He frowned, his eyes hazy with held back tears as the person led him into one of the testing rooms and closed the door. The testing rooms were made out of the hardest metal and were soundproof so no one would know what was happening unless they opened the door. The person shoved him in and Ray held back a whimper when he saw all the tools one would have for a surgery sitting on the counter. They were gonna cut him open. His fear was increasing by the moment as the person strapped him onto the table. It was no use fighting, they’d just give him another dose of whatever was in that dart and he’d be out in a matter of seconds. Ray wanted to cry, scream, fight but he couldn’t, the straps were tight, and they’d kill him if they found him to be too rowdy. He learned that when they took wolf hybrid into one of the rooms and he never came out. Ray gulped as the ‘doctor’ walked in and started putting on gloves. He had just started examining the tools when the alarms went off.

 

 

**INTRUDER ALERT! CODE RED! I REPEAT CODE RED!**

 

Ray let out a sigh as the doctor ran from the room along with the person who had brought him to the room. He immediately started trying to free himself, gnawing off the straps easily with his teeth. He was running on pure adrenaline as he darted down the hall toward his cage. He smiled when Adam and Matt came into view and he quickly opened their cages first then everyone else’s in the room.

 

 

“COME ON! WE’RE GETTING OUTTA HERE!”

 

 

Ray screamed and like a wave, the hybrids charged into the room where all the noise was and Ray stood dumbstruck for a moment as he saw most of his friends fight off the guards and doctors. He gave a toothy grin and they joined the battle. It didn’t take long, and after a few minutes everyone in the building was down and after Ray downed the last doctor, he turned and was enveloped in a hug, a big, fluffy black tail with a white tip wrapping around him too. He smiled, happy tears falling down his face as he pulled Joel closer to him, burying his face into Joel’s chest. Joel smiled as he rested his head on top of Ray’s, hugging Ray tightly. After a few minutes they pulled out of the hug and Joel smiled down at him “I’m so glad you’re alright, Ray..You don’t know how much I missed you.” Ray smiled intertwined their fingers “I missed you too, Joel..more than you know.” Joel smiled and used is free hand to place it on Ray’s cheek “Oh I think I have a pretty good idea.” And Ray couldn’t keep the smile off his face as Joel leaned down and pulled him into a kiss. They didn’t kiss long as the alarm was still blaring and they had to get out of the ruined facility.

 

 

“COME ON YOU F*CKS! THEY’RE COMING!”

 

 

Michael roared, his tiger tail flicking back and forth agitatedly. Gavin let out a squawk as Michael blew his eardrums off. 

 

 

Ray and Joel smiled at each other as they sprinted from the building hand in hand. Joel yelled as the wind hit their face,

 

 

“I’m never letting you go again, Ray!”

 

 

And Ray grinned, yelling right back,

 

 

“Like hell I’m leaving you again!”

 

~-~

 

 


	5. Commuovere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long but I don't have Microsoft Word right now so I wrote this in notepad. Let me know if there are any mistakes, please, but here's some Piano Player Michael and Violin player Gavin fluff. Enjoy~! Also Happy New Year!!! (Just a note: All of the songs used in this are real and I will link them below!) 
> 
> Melancholy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDQLGvSEpZc  
> Grief and Sorrow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75r9QVwzKFU  
> Lonely No More - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeBgDmGX5vE  
> A Dedication To...Everyone - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSBu9R9XC_I

~-~

 

 

Commuovere

 

(v.) to stir, to touch, to move to tears

 

  
~-~

 

  
Michael had always loved to play the piano. It was where he was able to pour out all his emotions into the keys and just feel the piece he just so happened to be performing. Most times, his emotion of choice was anger as he had a slight temper but people seemed to enjoy his works anyway. He loved to play anywhere because once he started playing he was in the song, feeling every note and not paying attention to anyone listening. His manager was a man by the name of Geoff who had tattoos covering his arms and a cool handlebar mustache. It had been at college, where Michael first met Geoff. Apparently, Geoff had come unannounced to see what kind of talent the school had to offer and it just so happened to be a day where Michael was feeling particularly stressed out and angry over an assignment and decided to play out his frustrations. Geoff had been walking down the hall when he heard Michael and as they say, The rest was history.

 

 

From then on, Michael was offered the job to play professionally and he took it without a second thought. College was just an annoyance that he had to deal with until he figure out what he wanted to do anyway, so he dropped out and never looked back. He was getting paid to play his soul for everyone to hear, though he hoped he'd find someone to truly listen to know exactly what he feeling with each piece, though that never happened. Women swooned over him daily just because he could play at all, but he turned down all of them. He needed someone who could hear his life story through his pieces. Though, he knew that he may never find that someone to understand him. So, he continued on with lonely life, playing concerts and going on tours. 

 

 

At the moment, he was in Geoff's huge house after a particularly long tour. He was trying hard to feel normal but it seemed like he was at his breaking point. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He had been so focused on his tour that he could ignore the loneliness slowly gnawing at his heart. He sat down in front of the piano and played with random keys for a few minutes before they turned into a beautiful, sad and lonely tune. He closed his eyes, frowning up in concentration. The haunting melody floated through the house, bringing everyone's attention to it and they all migrated toward the piano to watch the young protege play. Geoff and his wife wandered up as well, with a friend of theirs, by the name of Gavin. They had been talking about Gavin's violin playing when the piece cut through the noise of the house and the three stood and watched as Michael played his heart out. Gavin closed his eyes, feeling the sadness and loneliness grip his heart and before he knew it, he was crying. Geoff and Griffon looked between Gavin and Michael and smiled as they looked at each other knowingly. This is what both of them had been looking for, someone to understand.

 

 

As the last notes were played, Michael kept his head down and his hands still on the last keys played. He was startled when the small group began to cheer and his eyes flew open to land on the crowd he had created. He looked through all the calm and smiling faces until he landed on the man crying freely as he smiled sadly at him. His eyes held a knowing look to them that Michael had never seen before and as he stared at the man the crowd began to disperse, until it was only him and Michael. He walked up to Michael and sat down next to him at the piano.

 

 

"That was really beautiful."

 

 

Michael seemed to clear the fog around his mind and finally spoke to the man. "Thank you." Michael would catch his gaze lingering on those eyes, so expressive but so closed off at the same time.

 

 

"Does it have a name?"

 

 

Michael looked back down at his fingers still hovering over the keys and thought for a moment. "...Melancholy."

 

 

They sat next to each other in silence for a while until the man broke it. "Gavin."

 

 

Michael looked up at him "Hm?"

 

 

"Gavin. My name is Gavin Free."

 

 

"Michael Jones."

 

 

There was another short stretch of silence before Michael broke it this time. "Gavin?"

 

 

"Yeah?"

 

 

"You get it...right?"

 

 

Gavin didn't have to ask to know what Michael was talking about. "I do...Can I- Can I play a song for you?"

 

 

Michael blinked but nodded and Gavin pulled out his violin out of the case by the piano and stood, getting into position. He closed his eyes and began his own sad and sorrowful song. Michael wanted to close his eyes and listen but he couldn't stop staring at Gavin. He was fully immersed into the song and even his movements show how grief-stricken the man was. As the final notes played, Gavin finally opened his eyes and smiled sadly at the wide-eyed Michael. He took his seat next to Michael again and wiped away a tear that Michael didn't even know had rolled down his face. With a tiny smile, Gavin looked down at his violin. "I named that Grief and Sorrow. We understand each other, Michael."

 

 

Michael was still staring at him and slowly a smile took over his face. They could feel the emotions, see each other's souls underneath their music and that was a thought that Michael never knew would cross his mind. He looked down at his piano and smiled softly, sitting up he caught Gavin's attention as he started to play a nice melody faster than the slower ones before. His eyes slipped closed as he got into it, his smile turning into a grin as he paused and got a bit faster, playing a happier tune than before. Gavin had blinked but smiled as he watched Michael. He was grinning as he played and Gavin could see his dimples, which just added to the how cute Michael looked. As he finished, he blinked his eyes opened and looked back at Gavin who was smiling back at him. "What's the name of that one?"

 

 

Michael's smile got bigger and he didn't even have to pause with his answer like before. "Lonely No More."

 

 

Gavin's smile widened at that "Teach me the notes, Michael! We can play together!"

 

 

Michael nodded, his grin still perfectly in place. "Of course."

 

 

~-~

 

  
A couple years later, Michael sat in his new home at his piano. His smile was soft as he started a slow but nice melody. He looked out the window as he played, seeing  
the sun setting slowly and adding to his mood he was in. Everything is this moment seemed to weight heavily in Michael's heart and he played his appreciation for  
everything he had encountered. He thought about Gavin and his piece got a bit faster and more passionate. He thought about Geoff, then his job, his friends and his family and as the song came to a close he thought about his life at that very moment and his heart welled up in happiness. There was a overwhelming feeling of rightness that just put Michael into an emotional place. As the last note played, Michael opened his eyes, he didn't know had closed and found Gavin smiling at him from the living room doorway. Michael returned the smile as Gavin walked over to him and wrapped his arms around Michael's neck from behind.

 

 

"What was the name of that, love?"

 

 

Michael smiled up at him before he looked back out at the sunset. "A Dedication To...Everyone."

 

 

~-~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to let me know how I did. Comments and Kudos are much appreciated!


	6. Mellifluous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little Joelay fluff because I just started classes again and I need some cheering up before the hard work starts. I did this in notepad again so please let me know if there are any mistakes and I'll fix them! This part will have a sequel, just a heads up, because I ended it a bit abruptly for reasons..But yeah. This is a long one so enjoy!
> 
> Songs (In Order of Appearance):   
> Rather Be - Clean Bandit   
> I See Fire - Ed Sheeran   
> Warwick Avenue - Duffy   
> I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz

~-~

 

 

**Mellifluous**

**(adj.) [Of a voice or words] sweet or musical; pleasant to hear**

 

 

~-~

 

  
Ray liked to sing. He didn't tell anybody he did as he didn't really know how his friends would react. They were only sophomores in college anyway so he knew they would probably tease him for it. Though there was one person he really didn't want to find out. Joel Heyman was a senior and a friend of his friend, Michael. They'd never really talked that much because of busy schedules and different classes but Ray just knew that something about Joel made him feel light and bubbly, like he was at home and he could be comfortable with Joel. He realized after having a talk with Mr. Pattillo, the school's counselor, that he liked Joel, in that more than a friend kind of way. It was shocking as, he just thought he liked his company but he realized that friends don't want to stare into each other's eyes and spend every waking moment together. So, really he had no clue how Joel would react to any of it but he never wanted to test it. So he kept it to himself. He'd walk around the campus during the day normally but after hours he was in the music room, practicing his singing with the chorus teacher, Ms. Ward. He'd write songs about anything he was feeling and Ms. Ward would play her guitar or ukulele to help him practice. It was a lot of fun and Ray always looked forward to it. Ms. Ward would always tell him how good he was but he didn't really think much of it because she was supposed to tell him he was good...right? That's what teachers did, boost your confidence so you didn't look down on yourself, even if they had to lie. 

 

 

Everything was fine until the talent show was announced and Ms. Ward signed him up without asking him if he wanted to sing or not. He was furious when he found out, having kept this secret for so long and now he couldn't back out because it was too late. He sat in the back of the music room that day just ignoring his teacher. She kept saying that he should show off his talent and the talent show was the perfect opportunity to do so. He didn't want too, though. That was the whole point of the secret practices, he almost shouted, and that shut his teacher up for a while until she finally apologized and told him the real reason she signed him up for the talent show.

 

 

"There's a very important person coming to the talent show. He's looking for young people like you, talented and humble. He wants talent that will be able to stand up to the people currently in the business. I know you've wanted to keep this a secret but you are really, really good. Better than good, honestly, and I know you are exactly what he's looking for. So, I was just thinking about a future you might enjoy because I know you love to write and sing songs."

 

 

Ray looked up at her with wide eyes. He could be famous? But- No he wasn't that good. He couldn't even begin to compete with the singers today but he didn't know what he was doing here in college. Everyone had majors already and he was still completely clueless as to what the hell he was doing, so, being able to sing for a living was like a dream come true. Finally, he sighed and caved.

 

 

"Fine. I'll give it a shot."

 

 

Ms. Ward smiled wide and clapped her hands together "Great! Come down here everyday for practice, directly after school okay? Just until you figure out what you're going to sing and everything."

 

 

Ray nodded and went back to his dorm, still a little dazed at the fact that he could actually be able to sing as a job.

 

 

Over the next few weeks, Ray and Mrs. Ward picked a cover of "I See Fire" as Ray's song and they started practicing. Ray didn't tell his friends that he was in the talent show at all, giving the excuse that he had finally found his major and he'd be studying for classes the day of the talent show but he urged them all to go anyway. So the day finally came and Ray snuck into the back behind the curtain. He was supposed to go last and then the judges would pick a winner. He was extremely nervous and got more nervous the moment he saw his friends enter the building with Joel trailing right behind. He gulped as he looked out at the ever growing crowd of people and seeing Ms. Ward walk in with Mr. Pattillo and another man he didn't know. He was covered in tattoos and had a lazy grin and an handlebar mustache on his face. Ray frowned but moved away from the curtain. The show was about to begin and there was no need ruining the surprise for anyone. So slowly, everyone left the back stage one by one until Ray was the only one sitting backstage, waiting for the girl that went before him to finish. She was singing a pretty good rendition of 'Rather Be' and she had just finished. The teacher announcing sent the girl off stage and started to talk.

 

 

"Well we've had a good show tonight but we're not quite done yet! Everyone give a warm welcome to our last performer of the show singing 'I See Fire', Ray Nareavz Jr.!"

 

 

Some people cheered as Ray stepped out on stage and smiled nervously at the crowd. His friends and Joel were staring at him wide-eyed but he just took a deep breathe and closed his eyes as the audience got deathly quiet.

 

 

 _Oh, misty eye of the mountain below_  
_Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls_  
_And should the_ **sky** _be filled with fire and smoke_  
_Keep watching over Durin's sons_

 

 

The music started up and the people cheered for a moment before quieting down again as Ray continued to sing.

 

 

 _If this is to end in fire_  
_Then we should all burn together_  
_Watch the flames climb high into the night_

 

 _Calling out father oh_  
_Stand by and we will_  
_Watch the flames burn auburn on_  
_The mountain side_

 

 _And if we should die tonight_  
_Then we should all die together_  
_Raise a glass of wine for the last time_

 

 _Calling out father oh_  
_Prepare as we will_  
_Watch the flames burn auburn on_  
_The mountain side_  
_Desolation comes upon the sky_

 

 _Now I see fire_  
_Inside the mountain_  
_I see fire_  
_Burning the trees_  
_And I see fire_  
_Hollowing souls_  
_I see fire_  
_Blood in the breeze_  
_And I hope that you remember me_

 

 

People were clapping along now, his friends cheering louder than anyone else.

 

 

 _Oh, should my people fall_  
_Then surely I'll do the same_  
_Confined in mountain halls_  
_We got too close to the flame_

 

 _Calling out father oh_  
_Hold fast and we will_  
_Watch the flames burn auburn on_  
_The mountain side_  
_Desolation comes upon the sky_

 

 _Now I see fire_  
_Inside the mountain_  
_I see fire_  
_Burning the trees_  
_I see fire_  
_Hollowing souls_  
_I see fire_  
_Blood in the breeze_  
_And I hope that you remember me_

 

 _And if the night is burning_  
_I will cover my eyes_  
_For if the dark returns_  
_Then my brothers will die_  
_And as the sky is falling down_  
_It crashed into this lonely town_  
_And with that shadow upon the ground_  
_I hear my people screaming out_

 

 _Now I see fire_  
_Inside the mountains_  
_I see fire_  
_Burning the trees_  
_I see fire_  
_Hollowing souls_  
_I see fire_  
_Blood in the breeze_

 

 

Giving it all he had, Ray belted out the next lines, squeezing his eyes shut tighter.

 

 

 _I see fire_  
_Oh you know I saw a city burning out! (fire)_  
_And I see fire_  
_Feel the heat upon my skin, yeah! (fire)_  
_And I see fire_  
_Oo-oo-oo-ooo (fire)_  
_And I see fire burn auburn on the mountain side_

 

 

As he finished he was breathing hard and the whole college rose to their feet, cheering for him and he smiled so wide that he started laughing. He couldn't believe this was real but it was and the announcer teacher put a hand on his shoulder and he nodded, making his way off stage. The judges went back to deliberate and when they came back it was decided that there was a tie between Ray and the girl that had went before him. They had to pick a song off the top of their heads and sing it for the crowd so Ray nodded and smiled, already having the perfect song in mind. The girl went first singing a cover of 'Warwick Avenue' and then it was his turn. He grinned and waved his chorus teacher on stage and she returned the smile as she left Mr. Pattillo's side grabbing her guitar along they way. She raced onto the stage and stood next to Ray. He whispered the name of the song to her and she raised a brow but nodded as Ray turned back to the audience.

 

 

"This is a song I wrote myself called 'I Won't Give Up'." The audience got quiet again and Ray could see the heavily tattooed man next to Mr. Pattillo was more than interested now. Ms. Ward started playing her guitar then Ray looked out at the audience and started to sing.

 

 

 _When I look into your eyes,_  
_It's like watching the night sky_  
_Or a beautiful sunrise_  
_Oh, there's so much they hold_  
_And just like them old stars_  
_I see that you've come so far_  
_To be right where you are_  
_How old is your soul?_

 

 _Well, I won't give up on us_  
_Even if the skies get rough_  
_I'm giving you all my love_  
_I'm still looking up_

 

 _And when you're needing your space_  
_To do some navigating_  
_I'll be here patiently waiting_  
_To see what you find_

 

 

Ray raised his voice singing more passionately as he locked eyes with Joel.

 

 

 _'Cause even the stars they burn_  
_Some even fall to the earth_  
_We've got a lot to learn_  
_God knows we're worth it_  
_No, I won't give up_

 

 

The guitar picked up and Ray started singing faster.

 

 

 _I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily_  
_I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make._  
_Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use_  
_The tools and gifts we got, yeah, we got a lot at stake._  
_And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend_  
_For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn._  
_We had to learn, how to bend, without the world, caving in._  
_I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am._

 

 _I won't give up on us_  
_Even if the skies get rough_  
_I'm giving you all my love_  
_I'm still looking up, I'm still looking up._

 

 _Well, I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)_  
_God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)_  
_We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)_  
_God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)_

 

 

The guitar slowed down again and Ray finished the song as he stared right back at Joel, the two wearing matching small smiles.

 

 

 _I won't give up on us_  
_Even if the skies get rough_  
_I'm giving you all my love_  
_I'm still looking up_

 

  
The audience bursts into applause and cheers and it was very obvious who won the talent show. Ray grinned wide as the first prize trophy was handed to him and the second prize was given the the girl and third went to another guy who had danced. Ray was ecstatic as his friends crowded around him with congratulations, hugs and handshakes before there was a tap on his shoulder and Ray smiled as Joel came into view.

 

 

"Hey, Ray. That was uh- that was amazing." Joel was smiling at him and Ray just wanted to melt.

 

 

"Thanks, Joel."

 

 

Then the circle of his friends cut open like the Red Sea and through it came the tattooed man from earlier. He was smiling as he walked up and greeting Ray with a handshake.

 

 

"Hello, Ray. My friends Jack and Caiti have told me a lot about you. My name is Geoff Ramsey and I work for Rooster Teeth Industries. It's nice to finally meet you."

 

 

Ray blinked, his brain short circuited at the words Rooster Teeth. That was the most famous, biggest, record label in the world! How did Mr. Pattillo and Ms. Ward even know _the_ Geoff Ramsey?? "Uh- Hello, nice to meet you too."

 

 

Geoff grinned and said "Can we talk for a bit?"

 

 

Ray looked back at his friends and Joel, all of then smiling wide and Joel nudging him forward a bit before he smiled and nodded. "Sure." Ray left his circle of friends to follow Geoff off to Mr. Pattillo's office. His friends all watched them leave with smiles, Joel's more soft than anybody else's.

 

 

"So! That performance of yours was really good! I haven't heard something that good in a while, honestly. I go to these talent shows a lot and there's never really someone who has the whole package, you know? But you, you've got the voice, the personality, the attitude, everything. We don't really focus on looks at Rooster Teeth. Me and Burnie think it's stupid but you, you got everything!" Geoff started to ramble off excitedly and Ray couldn't help but smile and chuckle at his excitement, still a little starstruck at the fact Geoff was actually there. 

 

 

"Well, thank you sir. I've kept my singing to myself for while and I didn't really think I was that good, honestly."

 

 

Geoff made a weird and extremely funny confused noise that sounded like Scooby Doo and Ray was struggling not to laugh at it. "What?! But you are so good! You didn't believe Caiti when she told you the same thing?" 

 

 

Ray shook his head, swallowing the laugh. "N-no, sir. I just thought she was doing her job really. But I guess I must be good if you and everyone else is telling me I'm good."

 

 

Geoff smirked at him "D*mn straight. Now I wanted to ask you a question."

 

 

Ray looked back at him "Alright. Fire away."

 

 

Geoff got a little nervous with anticipation as he looked away and asked "Would- Would you like to be signed to Rooster Teeth?" Ray blinked but before he could speak Geoff added quickly, "You don't have to give me an answer today. I just want you to think about it-"

 

 

"Yes."

 

 

Geoff was startled and looked back at Ray. "I- Uh- Are you sure? Don't get me wrong I'd love to have you as a part of RoosterTeeth but uh you were keeping singing hidden so you must've had a plan here."

 

 

Ray sighed and looked away. "I'll be honest with you Geoff. I have no f*cking clue what I'm doing here. I've been doing all my gen ed classes hoping that something would pop up and I'd have a major but it hasn't happened yet. Then Ms. Ward signed me up and told me that you would be here. Well, she didn't say you exactly, but you get what I'm saying, and I've been thinking about the potential offer if you did approach me and I decided I would say yes because I had no plan. I was just kinda floating through everything. And now you're offering me a plan for the future so, I'll take it."

 

 

Geoff blinked once more before he grinned and held out his hand for Ray to shake. Ray grinned back and shook his hand. "Welcome to RoosterTeeth, Ray."

 

 

~-~

 

 

After everything was done and Geoff had left with Mr. Pattillo and Ms. Ward, Ray met up with his friends and Joel again to go out and celebrate.

 

 

"So Ray, how does it feel being able to leave this hell hole?" Michael had asked once they made it to the bowling alley.

 

 

"Kinda good.." He started but looked at Joel as he continued "But I'll miss some people."

 

 

Michael grinned as he looked between the two. "Hey Ray, How about you a Joel go get us some food, huh?"

 

 

Ray could've hugged Michael at how happy he was to get some alone time to talk to Joel. "Sure. Come on, Joel." He tried not to sound too happy about going with Joel but everyone in the vicinity could hear it in his voice. They walked over to the counter and order a bunch of pizzas to feed the army that they were and of course it was going to take a while so, they leaned on the wall next to the counter and were quiet for a while before Joel broke the silence.

 

 

"I'll miss you Ray."

 

 

Ray blinked at his sudden voice but looked back over at him. "I'll miss you too...but- we don't have too."

 

 

Joel finally looked up from the floor to stare at Ray confused. "What do you mean?"

 

 

Ray glanced away as he blushed. "Uh- well. I mean that we can still see each other if- if you want too?" Joel blinked as Ray continued "I know we don't really get much time to talk in between classes but uh- I- I really like to spend time with you Joel. Plus, Rooster Teeth is still in Austin so Geoff said that anyone I wanted was able to come into the studio with me and-"

 

 

Joel's eyes widened and he cut Ray off "Wait- Rooster Teeth- it's here? I- I thought you were leaving Texas.."

 

 

Ray frowned "Nah. Who told you that?"

 

 

Joel blinked again before he turned to glare at Michael. "That little piece of sh*t!"

 

 

Ray giggled loudly "I guess I know why he told you that."

 

 

Joel's head whipped over to Ray's direction. "Why?"

 

 

Ray blushed again and looked away. "Well, he just wanted me and you to confess something to each other."

 

 

Joel knew exactly what Ray was talking about as he frowned and looked away with a blush of his own. After another moment of silence, Joel finally looked back at Ray, seeming to have steeled himself and said "Well. Let's do it then. Ray, I- I really like you."

 

 

Ray blinked before he was smiling so big Joel thought it would break free of his face, his cheeks redder than before. "I really like you too, Joel."

 

 

Joel returned his huge smile as he took Ray's hand in his. They stood there for another moment, just smiling and enjoying each other's company before Ray said, "Do you think we should thank Micheal?"

 

 

Joel grinned wide as he said "Maybe in our heads, but not to his face. We'd never hear the end of it."

 

 

Ray giggled and Joel had to grin at the sound. "Your right."

 

 

Joel squeezed the hand in his his gently, he couldn't wipe the smile off his face if he wanted to. Ray was in the same boat as they stood there waiting for the pizza, holding hands.

 

 

"That song was about you, y'know?"

 

 

And if Joel hadn't been able to get the smile off his face before, well he sure as hell couldn't now.

 

 

~-~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to let me know how I did. Comments and Kudos are much appreciated!


	7. Supine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My class was cancelled today right as I sat down in my seat so with this little time before I have a test at 3:30 I wanted to finally post a few chapters I've been working on little by little. This one is the three times Michael had to calm himself down because of Gavin and the one time he didn’t. This was the first idea that popped into my head after reading the definition of the word so sorry if it's a little weird or something I dunno. I'm just writing whatever comes to mind but I hope you enjoy!

~-~

 

 

**Supine**

**(adj.) laying face upwards**

 

 

~-~

 

 

Michael had a temper. Everybody knew Michael had a temper but learned the difference between Michael being loud and Michael being actually mad, really quick. He was rarely pushed to the point of actually being pissed off, but Michael knew how to calm himself down. These are the three times Michael had to calm himself down because of Gavin and the one time Gavin calmed him down.

 

 

**1**

 

 

They were at a bar within walking distance of Michael's apartment. A rare thing to have everyone together, as Ray didn’t drink but Michael was sitting in between the other lads while the gents were on the other side of Ray. They were all talking, laughing and generally having a good time when a man slipped into the seat next to Gavin. Michael was having trouble paying attention to the conversation they were having when he heard the man started to flirt with Gavin. Gavin politely declined the man but he just kept edging on though, and the more he tried to convince Gavin to come back to his place the angrier Michael got. He didn't know exactly why he was getting so mad but he did know that he didn’t want the harassment to continue. After more and more extremely inappropriate advances from the man, Gavin was getting more and more uncomfortable with the situation as time went on until finally Michael couldn't take it anymore.

 

 

"Hey, man. He said f*cking no so leave him the f*ck alone."

 

 

Gavin looked relived that someone had noticed but the man just looked up at him and raised a brow. "So? I’m so close to changing his mind."

 

 

Michael felt his eye twitch but he tried to control himself as he turned toward the guy and put a hand on Gavin’s shoulder as he spoke clearly and loud enough for Ray and the gents to hear. "He. Said. No. If anything you’re just making him uncomfortable so leave my friend the f*ck alone!”

 

 

Gavin subtly slide closer to Michael as the guy glared at Michael. “How about you mind your own f*cking business.”  

 

 

Michael was getting angrier by the minute as Gavin looked more uncomfortable the longer the guy was next to him. This time Michael couldn’t control the volume of his voice and yelled it loud enough to get the whole bar’s attention. “If you don’t leave my friend alone I swear to god I’ll beat you until you can’t f*cking walk you f*cking piece of sh*t!”

 

 

The man completely ignored Michael, even going so far as to wrap an arm around Gavin’s shoulders. Gavin seemed to sink in of himself to try and get away from the guy as he spoke. "So, babe, how 'bout it?"

 

 

Michael saw red as he lunged forward, grabbing him by the collar and throwing him away from Gavin and back toward the crowd of people quickly forming. Though, before he could do anything else, Ryan and Geoff were holding him back as he yelled at them to let him beat the f*cker into a pulp. Ray was sitting in Michael’s seat next to Gavin now, trying to make sure he was okay, while Jack was talking to the man, trying to get him to leave before Michael got loose and everything got worse, but the idiot just had to fuel the flames.

 

 

"I'm not f*cking scared on him. I'm taking that nice piece of *ss home with me whether he likes it or not."

 

 

The audience watched as Geoff and Ryan's faces morphed into cold, hard glares at how he was talking about Gavin while Jack's face had hardened as well. Ray's head popped up at the words and he glared at the man while Gavin just watched in shock as Ryan and Geoff let go of Michael and Jack stepped away from the guy at the same time and Michael was let loose. Michael lunged forward again and got a nice clean left hook right into the man's face, knocking him back a couple of steps. He was taller than Michael but Michael was clearly winning this fight, with the constant right, left, right, left, right, until he was on the ground and Michael was throwing punches on top of the man and Gavin covered his eyes when he couldn't stand to watch anymore. The crowd was egging him on now but a shout entered the blur that was his mind at the moment.

 

 

"Michael, that’s enough!"

 

 

It took Michael three more punches to realize that Geoff wanted him to stop so after the one last punch he stopped, breathing hard and red faced with anger still coursing through his veins. He stood and glared down at the mess he'd made of the man's face. He scowled at the unconscious guy one more time before he walked right out of the bar and all the way back home, blood still covering his hands and shirt. He was still furious and he knew there was only one way to clear the fog that covered his mind when he was angry.

 

 

Once he reached his apartment he went out to his balcony and laid down on a long lawn chair facing upward toward the stars. Just like his mother taught him to do so long ago, he started by closing his eyes and breathing in deep and letting it out twice before he opened his eyes and looked up at the stars. Slowly, memories of doing this with his mother, and sometimes his father, coupled with the quiet peacefulness that covered the area, started to clear the mist still lingering in his mind. Now, when he thought about the man, he started laughing at how stupid the man was for even challenging _the_ Mogar. But his smile didn’t last long as his thoughts drifted to Gavin and he wondered for a moment if his best friend was okay and what he thought about his 'red out' as his mother liked to call them. He didn’t want to think about why he got so protective of Gavin in that moment but as he stared up at the sky, making Gavin's face in the constellations, he remembered his father's words.

 

 

_'You only have one of those things when you really want to protect someone you love. It seems like you're a little hero, Mogar.'_

 

 

**2**

 

 

This was about four months after the whole bar thing and Michael was setting up to record a ‘Rage Quit’. His days always started off with a little bit of anger these days. Gavin had gotten himself a boyfriend and Michael didn’t want to admit that he was jealous at first but after the first two months of them being together, Michael saw the bruises and had no problem saying Gavin deserved better. Gavin would always take it as rough housing and laugh it off but Michael never fell for it. Michael knew it was only going to escalate when he first found out that Gavin was being mentally abused. He knew it would become physical if Gavin stayed but he couldn’t tell Gavin anything. No one could. He wouldn’t listen to anyone other than _Scott_ , the piece of sh*t he was dating. Michael had never wanted to punch someone in the face more than he wanted to punch Scott in the face and that just added on to the anger he felt slowly building up in him every day because now he knew exactly why he wanted to protect the goofy Brit so much. But Michael kept his mouth shut and tried his best to get through the day without having a ‘red out’. Gavin would come in with bruises almost every day but he'd just put if off as rough housing so Michael couldn't step in. But the last straw was that morning when Gavin had come in with bruises covering every inch of skin Michael could see and his eye twitched violently.

 

 

"Gav, who did this to you?"

 

 

He spat the words out with venom, already knowing the answer and reaction to his question, but this time it was different. Gavin flinched and looked away, stuttering out the same excuse before sitting at his desk and ignoring everyone. Michael knew that he was really starting to see that his relationship was abusive. Yet, he still couldn't step in and that just frustrated and angered him more. Michael tried to go through the day normally, filming let's plays with everyone before starting to set up to record Rage Quit.

 

 

Everything had been going so nice. He’d had fun filming every video and was having even more fun with Gavin making comments in the background of his Rage Quit video. He had come out of the shell he put himself in that morning and was back to the normal goofy, lovely Brit Michael missed. He had even forgotten why he was angry earlier, until it walked right through the Achievement Hunter office doors.   

 

 

"Gavin!"

 

 

Gavin immediately froze at the angry shout from Scott and seemed to sink into his chair as Scott stood over him. Michael sat in his chair next to him, facing his screen as he tried to control the bubbling rage building up in his gut at the man now standing next to Gavin’s desk.

 

 

"Yes-?" Gavin started timidly but he didn't even get to finish his sentence before Scott was yelling at him.

 

 

"WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME?! I TOLD YOU TO CALL ME AT YOUR **FIRST** BREAK AND YOU HAVEN'T CALLED ME **ALL DAY**! YOU'RE SO F*CKING USELESS AND STUPID!"

 

 

Michael sat there with his headphones on but nothing playing, listening to every word and stewing in his seat with rage. One more stick and the pile is going to fall.

 

 

"Well, I'm sorry but I haven't had a break yet, babe-"

 

 

He cut Gavin’s quiet sentence off again, "DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULLSH*T!" followed by the loud echoing sound of skin on skin contact and Michael ripped off his headphones and stood to face Scott.

 

 

Still trying to control himself, he said calmly, "You hit Gavin again, and I'll break you into pieces."

 

 

Scott slowly turned to look at Michael as Gavin stared at him with wide eyes, still holding his cheek from the slap. "Gavin is mine and I can do whatever the hell I want to him, plus he deserves it for disobeying me-"

 

 

Michael was actually shaking with rage now, trying so hard not to have another red out in front of Gavin. "Shut the f*ck up, you f*cking piece of literal scum. You like hitting people so much how about you pick on someone just as strong as you instead of bullying the person you're supposed to love the most! HUH?! YOU F*CK!" Michael started to scream in his face, his face and arms turning red with the strain to hold back from actually punching him.

 

 

But then, "I do love Gavin! You have no right to tell me that punishing him when I feel fit isn't right, you piece of sh*t! Gavin's mine-"

 

 

Michael scowled, but continued. He couldn't hit him first. "You must not love Gavin if you treat him like a f*cking punching bag! You hit everyone you love with those hands? You hit your mom too? Huh? You piece of sh*t-!"

 

 

Scott glared at him at the mention of his mother and punched him in the face. Michael's head snapped to the side with the force of the hit but when he turned back around there was nothing but rage and a cruel smirk. He'd fallen right into the trap, so he laughed coldly.

 

 

"That's all you got, Scott? Come on at hit me like you hit Gavin!"

 

 

Scott growled again and swung his fist toward Michael’s face but Michael dodged it and swung a punch of his own, knocking Scott down. Michael had a feral grin on his face as he climbed on top of him and pounded into his face. Scott got a few more hits in before he was unconscious. Left, right, left, right until someone was pulling Michael off the abusive dick and he was fighting to get back to beating his face in. All he could see was red and Scott's face, already messed up and bloody just like the guy in the bar but worst.

 

 

"-icheal! Michael, snap out of it!" Ryan's voice cut through the mist but Michael ignored him, the anger that had been building up was pouring out now and he wanted to waste it all on Scott's face. He glared at Scott’s unconscious form, trying and almost succeeding to get free from Ryan’s hold. He didn’t want to kill him, but he did want to punch him for every time he laid a hand on Gavin.

 

 

"MICHAEL! THAT’S ENOUGH!"

 

 

It was Jack this time and Michael finally noticed that Gavin was crying so he grunted and frowned. He was still furious so Michael mumbled that he needed to leave and Ryan finally let go of him. Michael walked right out of the room and up to the roof where he laid on his back again. The sun was just setting so Michael just closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly. Finally, he calmed down and after a while, Michael went back into the office and found that Gavin was still curled up in the corner but he wasn't crying anymore and his boyfriend was gone, leaving behind a puddle of blood. Ryan and Ray were sitting on both sides of Gavin while Geoff and Jack were talking to a police officer. Geoff waved Michael over and he went over without a word. He explained what happened, and the dick was taken to jail for domestic abuse. Gavin got a restraining order against him and they never saw Scott again.

 

 

**3**

 

 

It was 2 in the morning, maybe a month and a half after the whole abusive boyfriend thing, when Michael was woken up by his cell phone blaring Gavin's ringtone. Half asleep still, Michael grabbed the phone and answered with a groggy,

 

 

"Hello?"

 

 

"Excuse me sir, I found the man who owns this phone on the sidewalk and he’s really hurt. This was the first name that came up but I called the paramedics already and they're on the way."

 

 

Michael sprang up from bed and pulled on some clothes as he rushed out the door. "Where are you?! I'm on my way!"

 

 

The guy found Gavin a few blocks from the bar by Michael's apartment, closer to the apartment than the bar. He was going to walk from the bar to his apartment, Michael realized as he rushed down the street, seeing the man sitting next to Gavin, who was lying on the ground with bruises and slashes everywhere. Michael couldn't tell if he was severely injured or not but there was a lot of blood surrounding him. Michael thanked the man for calling him as he grabbed Gavin’s hand to try and calm himself down. This was the man he was in love with, bleeding out on the pavement and they had no idea who had done it. His ex was still in jail, having got the max sentence for domestic abuse. It must have been a robbery or maybe that same dick from before was messing with Gavin in the bar again, and maybe that's why he was trying to make it to Michael's apartment? He didn't know but he needed answers and the only person with them was unconscious right now. The paramedics finally came, and Michael begged for them to let him ride next to Gavin.

 

 

"Only family can ride sir."

 

 

"I’m his boyfriend!" He blurted out the lie without thinking but the people let him on and he immediately grabbed Gavin's hand to steady himself. He was falling apart into a weird and dangerous mix of sadness and anger. He was mad at whoever did this and himself for not protecting Gavin but, they were friends, only friends. Gavin didn't even know that Michael liked him, let alone loved him and wanted to protect him. They rushed Gavin into the back once they got to the hospital and Michael was left in the waiting room pacing back and forth as he called the crew to tell them what had happened. Geoff arrived before anybody else with Ryan coming in next followed by Jack, Ray, then Lindsay. They sat in the waiting room for a while, with Ray and Lindsay trying to calm him down and Jack and Ryan trying to calm down Geoff. Finally, the doctor yelled out Gavin's name and they all stood.

 

 

"I'm sorry but I can only talk to family." Everybody but Michael and Geoff sat back down.

 

 

"..Well, Mr. Free has had quite the beating. He was stabbed once but thankfully the knife missed any major organs in that area. He also had a lot of bruises and some superficial cuts on his back and arms so he lost a lot of blood from the many cuts and the stab wound. He had to give him a transfusion and stitched him back up but he’ll make a full recovery. You can go in and see him now, one at time though.”

 

 

They thanked the doctor before Michael and Geoff walked back to Gavin's room. Michael let Geoff go in first, knowing the man wanted to see his pseudo-son. He stood outside the room for what felt like hours, before Geoff stepped back out and, seeing the worry in Michael's eyes, he laid a hand on his shoulder heavily and nodded toward the room.

 

 

Michael glanced at the door before he looked back at Geoff. He nodded back at Geoff and his hand slipped off Michael’s shoulder as he was walking back down the hall toward the waiting room. Michael watched him go until he couldn't see his back anymore. He frowned, looking back at the door as he sighed and stepped toward the door, finally opening it up after another pause.

 

 

What he saw made him want to punch the nearest wall. Gavin laid in the hospital bed, pale from how much blood he lost, bandages covering his body and looking so fragile and tired that Michael almost didn't want to touch him, thinking he might break if he did. Michael closed the door behind him and that seemed to finally draw Gavin's now dull eyes over to him. He noticed that Gavin's face lit up a bit just seeing Michael and that made him give a watery smile to the broken looking man in the bed, who returned it with a watery smile of his own. Michael walked over to Gavin, his throat suddenly dry, as he grabbed one of his hands. They just sat there in silence for a while, Gavin and Michael squeezing each other's hands like they were a life line, until Gavin spoke.

 

 

"M-Michael..I'm s-sorry." His voice was still scratchy with disuse even though Geoff had just been in here.

 

 

"Don't be. It wasn’t your fault, Gav. But- What happened?" Michael spoke softly, looking up at Gavin again at his question.

 

 

Gavin frowned and looked away from Michael. "You're gonna be angry, Michael.."

 

 

Michael frowned deeply, his voice still soft. "I'm already angry, Gav…for a lot of reasons. But I just need to know what happened…please?"

 

 

Gavin sighed and looked back at Michael's pleading eyes before he finally caved. "I- I was at the bar and this guy k-kept following me around and my ride had left without me so I- I decided I’d walk to your apartment and see if I could get away from the guy. I pretended I was going to the bathroom and left out the window to throw the guy off. I got a lot farther than I thought I would get but he caught up with me and I asked him what he wanted from me and who he was. He just laughed at me and said he was a friend of Scott-"

 

 

Michael immediately looked down and let go of Gavin's hand at the mention of his ex. Gavin frowned and caught Michael's eye.

 

 

"I didn't want to hurt you. Continue." was all Michael mumbled as he gripped his own hands so hard that they started to turn white. Michael expected anything but this. His head was swimming with so many different emotions but he had to hear the rest of what happened.

 

 

Gavin frowned and continued, a little more hesitant this time. "He- he came out of an alleyway and was blocking my way to your apartment so I ran back toward the bar but didn't get very far when something cut my arm. It stung like hell but I tried to keep running and he just kept cutting me up until he got close enough to stab me in the side. I fell down and he yanked the knife out. I was fading in and out of consciousness but the last thing he said was 'Scott sends his regards.' before he walked away. I don't remember anything after that."

 

 

Michael nodded and breathed deeply out of his nose. "Do you remember what he looked like?"

 

 

Gavin nodded and looked down. "He- He was taller than me. He was more built than me, too. Had brown hair and light colored eyes, maybe hazel, I couldn’t really tell in the dark. He had a tattoo on his knuckles that said 'hard edge' or something like that but I don't remember exactly."

 

 

Michael nodded again and sighed. He was doing a good job controlling himself in front of Gavin but he knew the emotions swirling in his eyes would always betray him when it came to Gavin.

 

 

"Thank you for telling me, Gav. You get some rest, okay?"

 

 

Gavin looked up at him but Michael still couldn't meet his eyes. He didn't want Gavin to see the raw emotions moving through his eyes right now, or else he'd know what was really on Michael's mind and Michael couldn't deal with any of that yet.

 

 

"Okay, Michael."

 

 

Michael grabbed his hand again and squeezed it gently as he kissed Gavin's forehead before he started toward the door. Gavin tightened his grip on the hand that was still in his and stopped Michael.

 

 

"Michael, don't- don't do anything crazy, o-okay?"

 

 

Michael didn't look back at Gavin but he did shake his head. "No promises, Gav, but I'll try my best."

 

 

That seemed to satisfied Gavin and he finally let Michael's hand slip from his as Michael continued out of the room, the door closing behind him with a soft click. Michael's face immediately hardened as the door closed behind him and he stalked out to the waiting room, where everyone sat waiting. They immediately noticed something was wrong with Michael and Geoff stood.

 

 

"What happened, Michael?"

 

 

Michael cut his eyes up from the floor to look at Geoff. "That f*cking piece of sh*t, Scott, is what happened."

 

 

Geoff looked at him confused. "But- He's in jail right now, isn't he?"

 

 

Michael squinted at Geoff in anger, cracking his knuckles. "Oh, he better be glad he's in f*cking jail right now. I'd f*cking kill him for doing this to Gavin."

 

 

Geoff was still confused but more concerned now. Everyone else was looking on with confusion too. "Michael, I'm not following here. How did Scott do this when he's in jail?"

 

 

Even at the thought of it, his blood started boiling. "He got one of his friends to kill Gavin but it didn't work because whoever did it was an idiot and only stabbed him in the side, thankfully. Both of them better be really f*cking glad it didn’t work because I’d make sure they’d never see the light of day again."

 

 

Michael growled out and everyone's eyes widened as they looked at each other and Michael.

 

 

"That f*cking piece of sh*t!!" Geoff yelled, slamming his palm into the nearest wall, startling everyone but Michael, who was too consumed in rage to notice.

 

 

Michael’s fingers started to itch to do something, to hit something or someone. His eye was twitching again and he cracked his neck to try to dissipate the feeling. The slow building 'red outs' were the worst, Michael learned a long time ago, and now here he was in the hospital feeling the start of the worst kind of 'red out' he could possibly have. Michael balled his hands up into fists so hard that they started to turn white and his face started turning red with the strain but before anything else could happen, Michael knew he had to leave. He couldn't let his friends see that there was a worst form than what had happened with Scott or the first guy at the bar months ago.

 

 

So, Michael mumbled an excuse about getting some fresh air and left. He stalked out to his car as his breathing got faster the more he thought about Gavin laid up in that hospital bed, looking so broken and tiny, and the two people involved in putting Gavin in that situation. He wanted to find the person immediately responsible for harming Gavin but he was stuck. He had no idea where to start looking for the guy. All he had was a description of the man and that was it.

 

 

He started to get more and more frustrated the longer he sat in his car, thinking about how to find this guy, when he just happened to look up at the entrance of the hospital and saw a man mostly matching Gavin's description. He was just standing in front of the double doors but his hands were in his pockets so Michael couldn't see if the tattoos were there. He was running on pure adrenaline and rage as he exited his car, locking it to make sure the guy knew someone was behind him. He wanted him to take those hands out his pockets.

 

 

'This better be the guy. I need to get this out of my system.'

 

 

The man turned at the sound of Michael's car and his bright hazel eyes came into view and Michael mentally checked another thing off the description list. Michael’s blood was pumping faster in his veins, the very thought that this could be the one who put Gavin in the hospital was pumping more anger into his veins than adrenaline. The man watched him walk up to him but never moved from the front doors. Soon enough, Michael stood in front of him. He mentally checked off ‘taller than Gavin’ off the list as he glared at the guy.

 

 

"What the f*ck are you doing standing in front of the door?"

 

 

Michael shouted at the guy but the man ignored him and turned back to the door, scanning the area on the inside. Michael got a bit angrier as he screamed louder at the man completely blocking the doors.  

 

 

"Hey, you piece of sh*t, I was talking to you! Move out of the f*cking way!"

 

 

The man turned around and finally pulled his hands out of his pockets to fix the collar of the jacket he was wearing and sure enough, 'hard edge' was written across his knuckles and Michael's fingers started to itch more so he opened and closed his hands to try and ignore the feeling, but then the man smirked at him.

 

 

"Hello, Michael. Scott has told me a lot about you."

 

 

Michael’s glare got darker at the mention of Scott's name. Of course, this guy knew who he was. He beat Scott's face in so bad that Scott had to warn whoever he sent to do the job about him, but now he had to play dumb.

 

 

"How do you know my name? What the hell do you want, you f*ck?" The guy just smirked and pulled out a knife, possibly the same knife he tried to kill Gavin with.

 

 

"I want you dead, Michael. You don't deserve to live after what you did to Scott. That’s why I roughed up Gavin. I didn’t want to kill him. I wanted to kill you, you piece of sh*t!"

 

 

Michael tilted his head down, his curls hiding his eyes as a twisted smile appeared on his face. "Good luck trying to kill Mogar."

 

 

The man paused and raised a brow, confusion and maybe a little hint of laughter was in the guy’s voice as he asked "Who the f*ck is Mogar?"

 

 

Michael wasn’t fazed and his smile got impossibly bigger and crueler. "Me."

 

 

The man started laughing freely at Michael before he lunged at him with his knife. Michael’s smirk was big as he twisted out of the way of the knife easily. The guy frowned and lunged at him again and again but each time Michael easily dodged it. Michael was doing well, holding off the red out but then the idiot just had to open his mouth.

 

 

“Oh, so all you’re going to do is dodge, huh? I thought I would get a good fight out of you but I guess I was wrong. Scott must be weaker than I thought if **you** were the one to beat him up. Ii should’ve killed that f*cker if that’ll actually give me a good fight!”

 

 

Michael’s smirk fell off his face instantly at the insult and at the threat of killing Gavin. He gave the man a cold hard stare as he thought. ‘He wants a fight? Well then I’ll f*cking give it to him.’

 

 

Michael felt his rage hit it’s peak and he finally lost himself to the worst red out he’s ever had in his life with a roar so loud it alerted everyone in the waiting room. The guy smirked at him and lunged again but this time when Michael dodged him, he grabbed the man’s wrist holding the knife and twisted it so hard the man let out a loud pained yelp and dropped the knife. Michael wasn’t done though, keeping his hold on the man’s wrist he slung him away from the knife. The guy landed on his stomach a few feet closer to the double doors, where, unbeknownst to Michael, everyone was standing in shock and watching the fight. Michael kicked the knife toward his car and stalked over to the man in two short strides, yanking him up by the collar of his jacket.

 

 

"You want a fight? Then fight me like a man."

 

 

It was monotonous and calm when the words came out, clashing greatly with the unmeasurable amount of rage showing clearly through Michael's eyes. The man was holding Michael’s wrist with his hurt hand but, determined not to be beat by Michael, swung his fist at Michael’s face with a loud yell, only to have Michael sling him to the ground again, before he could even get close to his face. He landed on his already hurt wrist wrong that time and when he got up again he was holding it. Michael, who was now sick off playing around, lunged at the guy punching him square across the face. The guy staggered back before trying to swing with his not messed up hand but Michael easily dodged it, throwing another punch after he dodged. He was getting tired now and his wrist was becoming a huge problem but Michael wasn’t even breaking a sweat, throwing punch after punch until finally the guy was on the ground and Michael was beating his face in just like he had done Scott.

 

 

Then suddenly, Michael was being yanked off of him by two sets of arms and Michael yelled at them to let him go. The guy didn’t move at all when Michael was yanked off of him and one of the nurses got a stretcher to wheel the guy in with. Michael was still screaming the whole time at Ryan and Jack who were holding him and at the guy now not even in the parking lot anymore. The anger was still coursing through him, like he hadn’t even fought the guy yet and that thought made Michael fight harder to get out of their hold. He needed to go and get away from the hospital. He need to lay down but now Ryan and Jack had stopped paying attention to his screams.

 

 

“LET ME GO!”

 

 

Michael became dead weight in their arms unexpectedly and they lost their grip on him and he immediately ran away from the hospital. He knew he had to stop this red out **now** so he looked for a place to lay down as he ran. The fact that his anger hadn’t been satisfied as much as he thought it would, was making him worry. He knew if that fight would’ve lasted any longer then he would have, probably, actually killed that guy.

 

 

Finally finding a hill overlooking a park with a clear view of the sky, Michael laid down on his back and breathed in deeply before letting it out twice. Slowly, his breathing started to slow back to normal and his heart stopped pounding in his ears as he opened his eyes and stared up at many colors in the sky. He thought about his mother and father and all the times they did what he was doing now, together, and took another steadying breath. He sighed before taking another deep breath. He thought about Gavin, still in that hospital bed that looked too big, compared to how tiny Gavin looked in the middle of it. He thought about all the things he loved about Gavin and his vision started to blur with tears. He’d taken out all of the anger and now sadness was the only thing left. A tear rolled his face as he looked up at the rising sun and felt a little ashamed for what he had done, knowing Gavin had just asked him not too. He had tried so hard not to let go, but he couldn’t do it. After he finally calmed down, he slowly made his way back to the hospital, noticing the red and blue lights before he even got close to the hospital. Michael frowned and finally walked up to the hospital where again, Geoff was talking to the police officers. Geoff noticed him and waved him over. Michael went over and explained that the guy tried to kill Gavin and him. After some questioning they finally let Michael go and the guy was arrested on two counts of attempted murder. They never had to deal with Scott or any other friends of his again.

 

 

_1_

 

Everything had gone relatively back to normal after a month and a half and Gavin returned to work after another month. It was almost a year after that, on an early Wednesday evening when Michael returned back from lunch with his boyfriend of three months, the one and only Gavin Free, and received a call.

 

 

“Hello?”

 

 

“Michael?”

 

 

Michael frowned as his father’s worried voice reached his ears.

 

 

“Yeah, dad it’s me. What’s wrong?”

 

 

His father took a shallow breath before continuing.

 

 

“It- It’s your mother.”

 

 

Michael felt his heart drop down into his gut.

 

 

“W-what’s wrong with mom, dad?”

 

 

The other occupants of the room turned to look at Michael when his voice cracked. His father took another shallow breath, like he was trying not to cry.

 

 

“She- She’s sick…Really sick.”

 

 

Michael stood up from his chair as he all but yelled into the phone.

 

 

“What do you mean she’s sick? How sick, dad?!”

 

 

“She has stage 4 c-cancer, son.”

 

 

His father’s voice cracked at the word cancer and Michael almost dropped the phone.

 

 

“H-how long..?”

 

 

He managed to choke out and his father took another steadying breath.

 

 

“Two weeks.”

 

 

Michael didn’t even hesitate as he said

 

 

“I’m coming back home. I’ll be there soon dad.”

 

 

“A-alright, son. I’ll see you soon.”

 

 

Michael hung up and the phone hit the ground with a loud thud in the now silent office. Gavin stood up and put a hand on Michael’s shoulder. Michael looked up at him and Gavin frowned as he saw the tears gathering in Michael’s eyes before Michael pulled him into a tight hug, sobbing quietly as he shook. Gavin wrapped his arms around Michael as the rest of the achievement hunters shuffled out of the room to give them privacy. Michael cried until he couldn’t cry anymore. He finally pulled back from the hug and Gavin wiped a few tears away as he frowned in concern.

 

 

“What happened, love?”

 

 

Michael sat down in his chair, pulling Gavin into his lap and hugging him close for comfort. “My mom-  she has c-cancer...D-dad said she only has t-two weeks left to l-live.”

 

 

Gavin frowned deeper as he tighten his grip on Michael “Oh, Michael..I’m so sorry…”

 

 

Michael tightened his grip too. “I have to go back home… but I can’t- I can’t do it alone..”

 

 

Gavin frowned and placed a kiss to Michael’s forehead. “Who said anything about you going by yourself?”

 

 

Michael felt a little weight lift off of him, knowing he wouldn’t be alone. He tried to smile at Gavin but it was watery and small as he whispered “I love you, Gavin.”

 

 

Gavin smiled sadly at Michael, pushing some of his hair out of his face. “I love you too, Michael.”

 

 

~-~

 

 

They spent three weeks in New Jersey, with Michael, Gavin and his father trying to make the rest of her life happy. On the second Wednesday they were there, Michael’s mother passed away peacefully holding both her son and her husband’s hands, with Gavin holding Michael’s other hand. It was silent other than the flat line constant beep of the heart monitor.

 

 

After that Michael was quiet, only making conversation when he needed to. Gavin didn’t make him speak, knowing he’d need his space. But this continued all the way up until the funeral. Michael spoke about his mother, never shedding a tear in the eyes of his family and family friends. After the funeral, they came back to Michael’s childhood home and Gavin was about to head back to Michael’s room when Michael’s fingers intertwined with his and pulled him out into the backyard. There were three of those long lawn chairs sitting in the middle of the backyard. Michael stared at his mother’s yellow chair and his father’s green chair before staring at his own red chair in between the two. He finally gestured for Gavin to lay on his mother’s chair while he laid on his own. Michael closed his eyes and breathed in deeply before letting it out twice. He opened his eyes slowly after that and looked up at the stars in silence. But then, Michael spoke the most Gavin had heard him talk after his mother’s passing.

 

 

“We used to do this a lot…my mom and me. Sometimes Dad too but mostly it was just me and her….I- I’ve always had these fits of rage, that no one could really explain, when it came to protecting someone I cared about. She called them red outs, kinda like a black out but with anger, y’know? My dad- he called me a hero because It was always protecting someone I loved. It’s where I got the nickname Mogar…But no matter how mad I got, no matter how bad my red outs were; my mom would bring me out here and we’d just breathe deeply for a second then we’d look up at the sky and it would always calm me down..It- it’s helped me so much before so I thought- I thought it would help me now, but-“ Michael paused, sitting up as the tears he’d been holding back all day ran freely down his face. “It isn’t h-helping Gavin…Why isn’t it h-helping anymore?”

 

 

In that moment, Michael reminded Gavin of an innocent little child getting his heart broken for the first time, so completely broke and confused as to why he couldn’t fix the ache in his heart like that of a cut or a bruise. It broke Gavin’s heart to see Michael like this so he frowned “Oh, Michael…” as he slipped off the yellow chair and sat next to Michael, who immediately wrapped his arms around Gavin and stuffed his face into Gavin’s neck. Feeling Michael shaking with sobs in his arms made a few tears fall from Gavin’s eyes and he looked down at Michael’s curly mop of reddish brown hair. Gavin held him tight and rocked the both of them back and forth lightly as he cried with him, the two sharing a pain so immense that anyone in the vicinity could’ve felt it. They stayed like that for a while, even after they were no longer crying, with Gavin still swaying them gently. They were silent as they held each other before Michael broke it with a sniffle.

 

 

“…Gavin?”

 

 

Gavin looked down at him with a soft, small smile.

 

 

“Yes, Love?”

 

 

“T-thank you..” Michael look up at Gavin, placing his forehead on Gavin’s.

 

 

Gavin gave him another small smile as he placed a hand on Michael cheek, wiping away any new tears that fell. “For what, Michael?”

 

 

Michael returned his small smile as he wiped the few tears that were falling from Gavin’s eyes. “For helping me realize that- the whole laying on my back thing was just for when I was alone and that I don’t have to do that anymore. I have you now. You are my calming place and I love you so much..”

 

 

Gavin smiled a little wider and he stared into Michael’s eyes. “I love you too, my Mogar.”

 

 

Michael smiled a little wider too as he pulled Gavin forward into a kiss. It was slow and sweet, them showering each other in affection and love through the press of lips on lips. After they parted, Michael smiled at Gavin as he said “With you by my side, I can get through anything.” Gavin smiled wide back at him and from then on, Michael never had to lay on his back to calm down anymore.

 

 

~-~


	8. Limerance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My class was cancelled today right as I sat down in my seat so with this little time before I have a test at 3:30 I wanted to finally post a few chapters I've been working on little by little. This is the sequel to Mellifluous (Chapter 6) so it's Joelay fluff. Hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Songs In order of appearance:   
> Overload - Life of Dillon   
> Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran   
> All of Me - John Legend

~-~

 

 

**Limerence**

**(n.) The state of being infatuated with another person**

 

 

~-~

 

 

Ray smiled wide as he looked out on the crowd of people cheering and chanting his name. This was the last show of his first tour, ending right here in Austin, Texas. So, in the crowd he spotted all his friends from high school and college, Caiti and Jack, Geoff and Burnie and right in the front row, his boyfriend Joel was shouting the loudest and he couldn't wipe the smile off his face if he wanted too. His smile only got bigger when he got an idea. He'd just finished singing his song 'Overload' and as he looked at Joel he came to a decision. Ray's fans knew he had a boyfriend but they'd never actually seen him or knew who he was. Ray walked to the edge of the stage and held out a hand for Joel to grab. Joel returned Ray's wide grin as he grabbed the hand and with a little help from the security, Joel was on stage next to him. The backstage people swiftly put a stool out for Joel to sit on and Ray gripped the mic a little tighter as he started to speak.

 

 

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you all to meet the love of my life, Joel Heyman." Ray's smile was gentle and Joel returned it with one of his own. "We've been dating for almost three years now, and, I wanted to do something special tonight."

 

 

Joel raised a brow in question but Ray just grinned and signaled for them to bring his guitar out. Caiti looked on proudly from the crowd, glad her guitar lessons were going to good use, like this especially adorable scene on stage. Joel understood what was happening when the guitar was placed in Ray's hands and he broke into a face-splitting grin.

 

 

"I wrote this song little by little over our relationship and I finished it a month ago. I wanted to wait for the right time to play it for you, and I feel that now is that time."

 

 

Joel's eyes absolutely sparkled to life and Ray felt his heart swell at the thought that he was the cause of it.

 

 

"This is called 'Thinking Out Loud', everyone." He stared up a slow tune on his guitar as he started to sing to Joel.

  

 

_When your legs don't work like they used to before,_

_And I can't sweep you off of your feet._

_Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?_

_Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?_

_And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70_

_And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23_

_And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways_

_Maybe just the touch of a hand_

_Well, me—I fall in love with you every single day_

_And I just wanna tell you I am_

 

 

Picking up the speed and his voice a bit, Ray's eyes slid shut as he continued.

 

 

_So, honey, **now**_

_Take me into your loving arms_

_Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars_

_Place your head on my beating heart_

_I'm thinking out loud_

_Maybe we found love right where we are_

_When my hair's all but gone and my memory fades,_

_And the crowds don't remember my name._

_When my hands don't play the strings the same way, (mmm...)_

_I know you will still love me the same._

 

 

Ray was getting more into it and Joel found his heart swelling at the heartfelt words.

 

 

_'Cause, honey, your soul could never grow old, it's evergreen_

_And, baby, your smile's forever in my mind and_ **memory**

_I'm thinking 'bout **how** people fall in love in mysterious ways_

_Maybe it's all part of a plan_

_Well, I'll just keep on making the **same** mistakes_

_Hoping that you'll understand_

_That, baby, **now**_

_Take me into your loving arms_

_Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars_

_Place your head on my beating heart_

_I'm thinking out loud_

_Maybe we found love right where we are (oh, oh)_

Ray strummed his guitar softly as he sung just as soft.

_La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, lo-ud_

_So, baby, **now**_

_Take me into your loving arms_

_Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars_

_Oh, darling, place your head on my beating heart_

_I'm thinking out loud_

_But maybe we found love right where we are_

_Oh, baby, we found love right where we are_

_And we found love right where we are..._

 

As he finished, his eyes slipped back open to look down at Joel's face, so full of love that it was almost overwhelming for Ray. Then the crowd started to cheer and Ray set his guitar down as Joel stood and didn't even hesitate as he pulled him into a kiss, sending the crowd into a frenzy again. They pulled back after a short kiss and smiled at each other before looking out to the crowd of fans, friends, and family. Ray felt an overwhelming sense of rightness cover him in that moment and he truly felt that this was the best moment to ever happen in his life so far. The crowd's cheering never stopped and Ray looked back at Joel, his smile slowly growing bigger as Joel did the same. 'Yeah, this is all I need in life.' He thought as the two leaned in and kissed again.

 

 

~-~

 

 

A few weeks later, Ray woke up to an empty bed and frowned. "Joel...?" He called out as he stood started to walk into the living room when a slip of paper caught his eye. He walked over to paper lying innocently on their dresser and picked it up.

 

 

_**'Dear Ray,** _

 

__

_**I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you woke up but, it's all for a reason. I have a surprise for you but that comes later tonight. Michael and Gavin will come by to get you at 6 pm so get dress up in something nice for me, alright? I wish I could be there but our night isn’t gonna set itself up. I love you and I’ll see you soon.** _

__

_**-Joel’** _

 

 

Ray looked at the clock and pouted. It was 1 pm so he still had 5 hours left to kill. He walked over to his closet and decided to pick out what he would be wearing later. Ray glanced at the tuxedo mask costume Joel bought him, still hanging in the back of the closet from Halloween. Ray smiled at it before he pulled out a plain white shirt, a black vest and pants before debating which tie he was going to wear. He finally settled for a red bow tie and put them in the bathroom for when he took a shower. He shuffled back into his and Joel’s shared bedroom before starting to clean up the room. After that room he moved to each room of the apartment, cleaning and organizing everything. After he was done cleaning the whole apartment, he realized had an hour before Michael and Gavin would get there so he shuffled back into the bathroom and got into the shower. 

 

 

After a quick shower, he made sure to dry himself and his hair before he pulled on what he was going to wear. He had just fixed his bow tie when three loud knocks came from his door. He pulled the door open and met Michael and Gavin, both of them dressed up in casual business attire. He greeted them as he let them both in so he could pull on his dress shoes and grab the rest of his things.

 

 

“You excited, X-Ray?” Gavin asked him after he pulled on his shoes.

 

 

Ray grinned wide “Maybe.”

 

 

Michael and Gavin laughed at that and Ray grabbed everything else he’d need before he was ushered out to Michael’s car. The drive wasn’t very long and soon enough, Ray was being led into building full of family, friends and even his friends from RoosterTeeth where there. There was a stage in the front with a stool and a microphone on it and single chair at the foot of it, while everyone else were seated at tables behind the chair to the left and right. Everyone smiled and cheered as he came in and Ray blinked as he looked around, pleasantly surprised by his and Joel’s family being there as well. Confused, Ray was led to the single chair and he sat down. Everyone else settled down in their seats and Michael and Gavin took a seat next to Geoff and Burnie.

 

 

They got quiet and looked up at the stage expectantly. Then Caiti walked out with her guitar, waving at Ray before taking a seat on the stool. Ray smiled and waved back at her but he felt he jaw drop with Joel from behind the curtains. He’d never seen Joel in a suit before so that made everything all the better. He had on kinda tight fitting black suit with a white shirt, a long skinny black tie and shiny black shoes to match.

 

 

Joel grinned wide and he walked up to the microphone as he said “Hi.”

 

 

Ray couldn’t help but smile at Joel as he said “Hi.” With a little wave.

 

 

“So, I know you’re wondering what’s happening, right?” Ray nodded and smiled back at Joel. “Well, I have a little surprise that everyone here helped me put together for you. So uh- Caiti? You ready”

 

 

Caiti smiled wide and nodded placing her guitar in her lap and starting to strum a nice soft beat. Joel smiled and looked back at Ray as he started to sing.

 

 

_What would I do without your smart mouth?_

_Drawing me in, and you kicking me out_

_You've got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down_

_What's going on in that beautiful mind_

_I'm on your magical mystery ride_

_And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright_

 

Ray was in shock for a moment. Joel’s voice was amazing, smooth but powerful. It had a presence all it’s own and Ray was drowning in it. Ray had never heard of this song either so maybe Joel had written it just for him? The thought made his heart beat faster and a nice warm fuzzy feeling arose.

 

_My head's under water_

_But I'm breathing fine_

_You're crazy and I'm out of my mind_

 

_'Cause all of me_

_Loves all of you_

_Love your curves and all your edges_

_All your perfect imperfections_

_Give your all to me_

_I'll give my all to you_

_You're my end and my beginning_

_Even when I lose I'm winning_

_'Cause I give you all of me_

_And you give me all of you, oh oh_

 

Ray felt his eyes blur with tears as he smiled up at him. Only thoughts of how much he loved Joel going through his head. A few tears fell when he blinked his eyes closed for a moment, just enjoying the rise and fall of Joel’s voice.

 

_How many times do I have to tell you_

_Even when you're crying you're beautiful too_

_The world is beating you down, I'm around through every mood_

_You're my downfall, you're my muse_

_My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues_

_I can't stop singing, it's ringing, in my head for you_

 

Ray laughed a bit at the crying part but it only made more tears fall. He wiped them away as he smiled softly at Joel.

 

_My head's under water_

_But I'm breathing fine_

_You're crazy and I'm out of my mind_

 

_'Cause all of me_

_Loves all of you_

_Love your curves and all your edges_

_All your perfect imperfections_

_Give your all to me_

_I'll give my all to you_

_You're my end and my beginning_

_Even when I lose I'm winning_

_'Cause I give you all of me_

_And you give me all of you, oh oh_

 

_Give me all of you_

_Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts_

_Risking it all, though it's hard_

 

Joel slowly made his way off the stage, holding out a hand for Ray to take. Ray smiled and took the hand, standing to look up at Joel as he finished the song.

 

_'Cause all of me_

_Loves all of you_

_Love your curves and all your edges_

_All your perfect imperfections_

_Give your all to me_

_I'll give my all to you_

_You're my end and my beginning_

_Even when I lose I'm winning_

_'Cause I give you all of me_

_And you give me all of you_

 

_I give you all of me_

_And you give me all of you, oh oh_

 

 

The crowd erupted in cheers and Ray started to laugh as more tears escaped his eyes. Joel smiled wide back at him and wiped away the tears. He put a finger to his lips and the crowd quieted down as he turned back to Ray.

 

 

“Ray Nareavz  Jr. We’ve been together for officially 5 years tomorrow and I wanted to do something special for you because you’ve always wrote song about me and sung them for me and I wanted to return the favor. I’ve never sung a day in my life up until now so I’m sorry if my voice was bad but Caiti, Geoff and Burnie really helped me with the whole singing and writing songs thing. I wrote this song for you over the last month and a half so there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while now.” Joel smiled wider at Ray’s confused expression as he slowly went down on one knee, making Ray’s eyes widen and the crowd of people gasp and cheer. “Ray, will you marry me?” He pulled out a simple silver ring with a diamond surrounded by roses in the middle.

 

 

Ray now had tears freely falling down his face as he tackled Joel into a hug, repeating the word “Yes!” over and over again. Everyone cheered for the two and Ray was once again a giggling, crying mess as Joel picked him up and spun him around. As he put him back down, he rested his forehead on Ray’s with a bright smile.

 

 

“I love you, Ray.”

 

 

Ray returned his bright smile as he grabbed the back of Joel’s head. “I love you too, Joel.” Ray mumbled before pulling him into a kiss. Joel smiled through the kiss and cheers from their family and friends could be heard all around them. As they parted Ray and Joel stared into each other’s eyes, only one though running through their minds. ‘Yeah, this is all I need.’

 

~-~


	9. Retrouvailles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My class was cancelled today right as I sat down in my seat so with this little time before I have a test at 3:30 I wanted to finally post a few chapters I've been working on little by little. This is the last one I can do today but this one is Mavin again where Roosterteeth/Achievement Hunter don't exist. Also high school reunions. Hope you enjoy!

~-~

 

 

**Retrouvailles**

**(n.) The joy of reuniting with someone you haven't seen in a very long time**

 

 

~-~

 

 

Today was the day. Gavin shot up out of bed, late one Saturday morning with a wide smile. Today was his high school’s reunion and while he had stayed here in Austin, Texas after graduating, most of his old friends had left to different cities of the state. He was excited to see them all again, especially his best friend, Michael Jones, who had gone off into the army right after graduating. They hadn’t been able to stay in contact during Michael’s training but then he was whisked off to a station in Iraq. Gavin hadn’t seen or talked to him since their graduation day, 10 years ago, and to say he was excited was an understatement.

 

 

The reunion would start at 6 in the evening and now it 12 so Gavin had some time to kill. He laid back in bed and thought about what would happen. Would Michael remember him? Of course he would, they were team Nice Dynamite! A force to be reckoned with when it came to video games. Gavin grinned at the memories of playing Halo and Call of Duty with Michael, Ray, Joel, and Geoff. Michael would always come to his rescue and Gavin would always get downed right after he was helped, making Michael scream curses at him through the headset while he and everyone else would just laugh.

 

 

But then one stray thought brought back years of repressed feelings, buried deep so long ago. He thought about how Michael’s smile always lit up the room and how he could never really stay mad at him for long because of those dimples in his cheeks. He thought about all the hugs they’d shared and the quiet conversations they’d have during sleepovers. He thought about the softer side of Michael that only he ever got to see and Gavin heaved a deep sigh as old feelings resurfaced at just those thoughts. He cursed, suddenly much more nervous about seeing Michael again. He thought he’d gotten over this, this _thing_ he had for Michael but apparently he was wrong.

 

 

Standing, Gavin glanced at the clock and saw that he still had 4 hours left to kill. He had to get his mind off of Michael and focus on something else. So, Gavin cleaned his house up for 2 of those 4 hours before pulling out a plain white dress shirt, black tie, pants and shoes. ‘Something simple but nice.’ He smiled and moved to take a much longer shower, before blowing drying his hair and doing his best to tame it. After he was dressed and his hair was to his liking, he glanced at the time, finding he had 30 minutes left to get to his old high school. He sighed, trying to shake his nerves away as he grabbed everything and started toward his car. He got in and looked into the rear-view mirror.

 

 

“You can do this, Gavino. You can do this.” He mumbled and pulled out of the driveway. As he started toward his old school he couldn’t help but feel like something was going to happen, if the pit in his stomach was anything to go by.

 

 

~-~

 

 

Now, Gavin stood outside of the school, hearing the loud music playing through the doors. He frowned as he looked up at the doors he used to walk through every day and sighed. ‘It’s now or never.’ With that thought he pushed the doors open and the music and smell of food hit him in the face almost immediately. He looked out at the sea of faces that were so familiar yet so different.

 

 

“Vav!”

 

 

Gavin grinned as he heard a nickname that only one person would call him. “X-ray!”

 

 

He turned and greeted Ray. “Hey man, come on to the table. Joel and Geoff are already here.”

 

 

Gavin nodded and followed Ray back to a table in the corner where Geoff sat next to a woman Gavin didn’t recognize and Joel sat next to Geoff. Ray took his seat next to Joel, intertwining their fingers. Gavin grinned knowingly at them as he sat down next to Ray and greeted everyone already at the table. “So, Geoffrey, who’s the lovely lady?”

 

 

Geoff grinned and placed an arm around the woman as he stated proudly “This is Griffon, my wife.”

 

 

Griffon rolled her eyes playfully at Geoff’s proud grin before she smiled at Gavin. “It’s nice to meet you Gavin. Geoff has told me a lot about you.”

 

 

Gavin sent Geoff a look as he said “Oh, has he now?”

 

 

And from there their conversation turned to catching up over the last 10 years. Gavin got comfortable, being with his old friends. So comfortable that he forgot that he was still nervous about seeing Michael again. They had just started talking about how Joel and Ray had got together when Geoff happened to look up and grin at the door, calling out the one name that made Gavin’s heart flutter and drop at the same time.

 

 

“Michael! Over here!”

 

 

Gavin saw the knowing smirks that Ray and Joel send him and frowned. They knew he used to have a huge crush on Michael but apparently his crush had only gotten bigger. Gavin slowly turned to look at Michael and his jaw hit the floor. That long curly red hair had been cut shorter than Gavin had ever seen it and his glasses were nowhere to be found. All the baby fat that Michael used to have was gone, replaced with visible muscle, which were shown off blatantly in the tight fitting white dress shirt, black vest, black and white tie and black pants he was wearing. Gavin blinked once, then twice, as he stared at his best friend. Michael smiled wide as he eyes landed on him and Gavin forgot how to breathe when that smile lit up the room brighter than he’d ever seen before.

 

 

“Gavy Wavy!!” Michael’s voice was deeper than before and Gavin had to fight hard not to sigh wistfully at the sound. Instead he wiped the shock off his face and grinned back at his still adorable, but now sexier best friend.

 

 

“Mi-cool!”

 

 

Michael smiled wider at him and Gavin could’ve sworn his heart stopped at the sight of those dimples. Gavin was hit with a sense of nostalgia as he hugged Michael, seeing as that smile still lit up the room and he was still just as warm as he used to be and god- Gavin couldn’t handle this. They pulled back from the hug and Michael took a seat right next to Gavin, making Gavin’s grin a little wider. Everyone at the table, except Michael, sent Gavin a knowing look but he just frowned as he blushed and looked away from them back to Michael. Michael was introduced to Griffon and before long, Michael easily joined the conversation. After Joel and Ray caught Michael up and finished their story about how they got together, Michael started sharing stories about training and a few friends he’d made while in the army. Ryan, Jack and Jeremy were all stationed with Michael and he told lots of crazy stories of his time with them as the night went on. Gavin couldn’t help the small smile he had while Michael talked so adamantly about his time in the army. Ray, Joel, Geoff and even Griffon would look at him knowingly or Ray would nudge him when he was looking too much like a teenager in love, all through the night.

 

 

~-~

 

 

As the night came to a close and people started to leave, Gavin didn’t want to leave if that meant Michael was going to leave too.

 

 

“Hey Gav?” Gavin looked up at him, that sad look he was trying so hard to hide was still present and Michael noticed immediately. “How about we go walk around the school for a bit? Just to catch up a little more.”

 

 

Gavin smiled and nodded and the two said goodbyes to Ray, Joel, Geoff and Griffon before they started the opposite way the couples had went. They walked in silence of a bit before Michael broke it.

 

 

“I’m uh- really glad I got to see you again, Gav…I’ve missed you.”

 

 

Gavin blushed and bit his lip, the low light in the hallway hiding the red on his cheeks. “Yeah, I uh- I’ve missed you too, Michael.”

 

 

They walked past a light coming from the window and Gavin could see the soft smile Michael was giving him and couldn’t help but return it.

 

 

“Gavin, I- I’ve had a lot of time to think about things and I-“ Michael paused, chewing on his lip a bit before continuing. “I never stopped thinking about you, the ten years I’ve been away, and at first I didn’t understand why but now- now I know exactly why...”

 

 

Michael trailed off and Gavin’s eyes widened as Michael placed a hand on his waist and behind his head, pulling him into a kiss. Gavin was still with shock for only a second before he was kissing back, wrapping his arms around Michael’s neck as he leaned into him and deepened the kiss. When they pulled away, they were both breathing hard and smiling big.

 

 

“I love you, Gavin Free.”

 

 

Gavin’s smile got impossibly larger as he said “I love you too, Michael Jones.” And with that Michael pulled Gavin back into another kiss, both of them smiling through it.

 

 

A loud yell of “GET A ROOM!” followed by familiar laughter broke them apart this time and they both turned to grin at Ray and Joel peaking around the rows of lockers with Geoff and Griffon giggling behind them. Michael looked back at Gavin and smiled softly at him. Gavin looked back at him with the same smile and intertwined their fingers as he tugged Michael toward the way they had come.

 

 

“How ‘bout we do exactly that?”

 

 

Michael laughed and Gavin couldn’t help but grin wider at the sound. “Hell yeah.”

 

 

And as Gavin pulled Michael pass the two couples, still giddy and giggly over the recent events, he couldn’t help be smile as he looked at Michael and thought. ’10 years of waiting well worth it.’

 

~-~


	10. Serendipity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello again~! This is a two parter so it technically has two words to go with it. This is the last one word story I'll be doing for a while unless I find a word that just gives me inspiration to write. So I hope you guys enjoy and thanks for sticking around with me! :3

~-~

 

 

**Serendipity**

**(v) Finding something nice while looking for something else**

 

 

~-~

 

 

Ray didn’t know what he was looking for when he moved to Texas. His life in New York was boring and dull so he guessed he was looking for a better way of living when he left. Maybe he left because he didn’t have anyone there with him besides his parents. He loved them, yes, but he had to get away from the familiar drone of his boring job, boring days, and boring life.

 

 

So one frosty morning Ray packed up and climbed onto a one-way flight to Texas. ‘Why Texas?’ People would ask him later and he honestly never had a good answer for them. He’d just picked a state and went with it. He decided he needed a little yolo in his life from now on. On the airplane he was seated by the window next to a man with more tattoos on his arms than Ray had ever seen and an amazing handlebar mustache. He noticed Ray was playing Pokémon on his DS and soon enough they were talking about video games for the entire flight. Ray learned his name was Geoff and he was in the process of starting up a huge company with his other friends, Burnie, Matt, Gus and Jack. It had something to do with video games and that held all of Ray’s attention. Geoff had already started setting up everything and they already found a lot of people who were willing to work there when it was finished. As they stepped off the flight together, Ray send Geoff a grin as he said,

 

 

“Well sign me the f*ck up.”

 

 

Geoff had laughed, took his number and disappeared into the crowd with a shout over his shoulder of,

 

 

“I’ll call you when we’re ready for you, Ray!”

 

 

Ray left the airport with a grin. Already his life was turning out much better than it would’ve been had he stayed in New York. He shifted the bags in his arms and called for a taxi with a whistle that had been perfected in his home state. He planned enough to book a hotel for him to stay in for two weeks while he searched for an apartment he could afford at the moment and a temporary job (if Geoff actually did call him) to be able to continue paying for said apartment. So, Ray set out to his hotel with a small smile. This was good. He could do this.

 

 

~-~

 

 

“I can do this.” Ray mumbled as he searched through the newspaper and online for anything at all. His time was running out and Geoff hadn’t called. He even asked for help at the front desk, asking the two women that worked there to let him know if they found any work or places to stay for him. He has two more days to find something or else he’d be on the streets. Ray groaned and ran a hand through his messy bed head. He hadn’t left his hotel room much after entering it a week and 5 days ago, having started right away trying to find somewhere else to go.

 

 

 He stressed himself for the rest of the day trying to find something but the next morning when he woke, a newspaper had been slid under his door and he smiled as he bolted to it, knowing the women at the front desk had most likely found something. And sure enough, when he grabbed the paper several jobs and apartments were circled and Ray grinned, zeroing in on one job that sounded pretty great to him and a relatively cheap but nice sounding apartment. In bold red marker, the women had circled a job at Game Stop just down the street from the hotel. He grinned bigger and rushed to the phone. The manager that answered hired him over the phone, and told him to come in for a few hours later that day to train him, and they’d get his hours worked out. Ray agreed and once he was off the phone he contacted the person in the paper for the apartment and after working out a time close enough to now for Ray, he was going to look at the apartment before he decided anything. He knew he would probably take it no matter how it looked but he hoped it would be nice.

 

 

It took a little time, but Ray finally got the apartment and the job. It started off alright but it quickly became that same boring drag again. He’d get up, go into work, have to deal with screaming kids and (mostly) rude people, then he’d close the store for the night, go home and do it all again. The longer time dragged by the more frustrated Ray got. He didn’t know what he was doing anymore. This was what he’d tried to get away from in New York but here he was falling back into his old way of living in a new place. Ray had completely forgotten about Geoff during his time working, having gave up hope that the man would ever call him for a job too good to be true. But then, everything changed.

 

 

It started as a normal boring day for Ray. He’d got up early, pulled on his uniform, and started toward Game Stop. He’d unlocked the door, flicked on the open sign and started to fix any games that hadn’t been fixed when he left the night before. Most of the time Ray was in the shop by himself or with one other person. Rarely were there more than two or three people in the show at once, and today was one of those days. Another worker, a guy named Mark, walked into the door moments after he started fixing the shelves and took his post behind the desk fixing what needed to be fixed after the two shared a quick greeting. The shop was quiet for a long time and Ray took to scrolling through his subscriptions on YouTube to pass the time. That is, until the door dinged and both Mark and Ray’s heads snapped up to meet a tall guy with dark brown hair styled like a whirlwind, a goatee and a stare that seemed to look through Ray. Ray blinked and raised a brow as the guy squinted his eyes at him for another moment before he shook his head and turned to look at the many game racks surrounding the wall. Ray tried not to pay any more attention to the man but every now and then his eyes would drift away from his phone and he’d find himself staring again.

 

 

Finally, the guy turned and squinted at his name tag this time. “Excuse me, Ray, I had a question about this game.”

 

 

Ray nodded and put his phone in his pocket before he came around the counter and stood next to the man. He tried not the think about how freakishly tall this guy was compared to him but it was kinda hard when he was standing next to him. “What game?”

 

 

“This one, the new halo.”

 

 

“Alright. What did you want to know about it?”

 

 

The guy started to look more and more embarrassed the longer he stood there holding the game. “Uh- my friend said there was a new gun or something and I was wondering what it was.” Ray nodded and explained the new gun as well as everything else the game had to offer. “Thanks. Oh, and one more question.”

 

 

Ray was about to leave but stopped at his voice “Alright, what else did you need?”

 

 

The guy scratched the back of his neck as he looked away from Ray. “Geoff was wondering if you still wanted to take him up on his offer.”

 

 

Ray blinked once, then twice before he said “I- uh- what?”

 

 

The guy frowned his whole posture seeming to deflate a bit. “Your name is Ray Narvaez, right?” Ray nodded, the shock still clearly on his face. “Well, my name is Joel Heyman and I’m a friend of Geoff. He was too busy getting Achievement Hunter together so he told me to come see if you wanted to work with us, still.”

 

 

Ray had to place a hand on the game rack to steady himself. “I- You- You’re serious?” Joel nodded, looking a little worried at Ray’s reaction. “Sorry- Sorry I just, man…It’s been so long since I last saw Geoff that I kinda gave up on it y’know? It was one of those ‘too good to be true’ types of jobs.”

 

 

Joel smiled at that “Oh, I know exactly how that feels. But uh- what do you say? Want to be an Achievement Hunter?”

 

 

Ray grinned back at him “Hell yeah.”

 

 

~-~

 

 

And just like that, the slow drone of the day was replaced with screams and squeals, rough housing and bets, games and more games and Ray’s life couldn’t get any better. They built a name for themselves on the internet, so many different teams and memories made with amazing people. Ray remembers his first day vividly. He had met Geoff at the front of the building with a grin and Geoff returned the grin as they shook hands and he proceeded to show him around, introducing him to everyone at the company already. He met all the Achievement Hunters, except one, the next day and they fooled around in video games until the last one finally flew in all the way from Britain.

 

 

Ray was having the time of his life but somewhere down the line, he started to get lonely. Michael and Gavin had each other, Ryan was married with kids, Geoff had Griffon and Jack had Caiti but here was Ray, all by himself. Slowly, all he saw at the office were couples and it made the hole in his heart bigger each day. Sometimes, he felt like he was being a baby. He had the perfect job and here he was complaining about his friends being happy. Sometimes he’d just wallow in self-pity. Would he always be alone?

 

 

It was one of those ‘wallow in self-pity’ type of days for Ray as he sulked into the office, immediately greeted with Caiti kissing Jack quickly on the lips before the two went off to work. Ray frowned and made his way to the kitchen, where Miles and Kerry stood talking and holding hands. Ray greeted them quickly before grabbing a red bull and leaving right away. He didn’t want to go into the office yet but he didn’t know where couples wouldn’t be. Just walking down the hall he passed Burnie and Ashley & Barbara and Lindsay. He ran over the list of people at the company that weren’t in a relationship in his head and smiled when an idea came to mind.

 

 

Taking a quick left turn, Ray ended up in front of Joel and Adam’s office. He knocked on the door and after some shuffling Joel’s head peaked out the room. “Yea- Oh. Hey Ray. What are you doing here?” Ray shrugged helplessly not really knowing how to explain what he was doing. Joel furrowed his brows, a look of concern covering his face. “Well, come in at least.” He stepped aside and let Ray into the office. Adam was gone so Ray sat down in his chair and turned toward Joel.

 

 

Ray opened and closed his mouth two times before he sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me Joel.”

 

 

Joel frowned “What’s happening?”

 

 

Ray looked down “I’m just- It’s just that- everyone is in a relationship and it almost feels like their rubbing it in my face, in a way. I know it’s not like that but just coming here I saw Caiti and Jack, Miles and Kerry, Burnie and Ashley _and_ Barbara and Lindsay. I know I should be happy for everyone but I just- Sometimes I wish I could have something like that. I don't even know anymore.” Ray continued to look at his hands in his lap as he rambled on but chanced a glance up at Joel, who looked like he was thinking hard about what Ray had said.

 

 

“So you’re lonely?”

 

 

Ray sighed “I guess.”

 

 

Joel nodded and there was a long string of silence. “Well I know how that is. I haven’t been on a date in a few years. Too busy with Rooster Teeth, Achievement Hunter and Acting to even think about a date.”

 

 

Ray looked up at him with a frown. “A few years?”

 

 

Joel nodded as he chuckled “Yeah, sad huh? But I don’t let it get to me. I just keep busy and it’ll happen when it happens.”

 

 

Ray nodded, glancing at the clock on the wall behind Joel. He sighed, it was time to go to the office. They had a few videos to record for the week. “Well, I have to get back to the office. It was nice talking to you Joel.”

 

 

Joel smiled and nodded at Ray “Likewise, Ray.”

 

 

Ray returned his smile as he went to leave but stopped before he fully closed the door. “Oh and Joel?”

 

 

Joel looked back up from his computer screen “Yeah, Ray?”

 

 

Ray smiled, giving Joel a little nod as he said “Thanks for listening.” And closed the office door before Joel could answer him. Ray smiled to himself as he left toward the Achievement Hunter office and unbeknownst to Ray, Joel had a matching smile on his face as he looked back at his computer screen.

 

 

As Ray walked back to his office he couldn’t help but think about when he first got to Texas. He thought about the hotel room, the old ladies at the front desk, Game Stop, and he thought about the first time he met Joel. Ray had an answer to that one little question that always seemed to pop up every now and then. Now, he’d answer truthfully, “I don’t know what I was looking for when I boarded that plane to Texas…but I know I found an amazing new family and a just as amazing new friend.”

 

 

~-~

 

 


	11. Wonderwall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello again~! This is a two parter so it technically has two words to go with it. This is the last one word story I'll be doing for a while unless I find a word that just gives me inspiration to write. So I hope you guys enjoy and thanks for sticking around with me! :3 (This is kinda old so excuse the old movie I used in this. Jurassic World is still a great movie thoooo. <3)

~-~

 

 

**Wonderwall**

**(adj.) Someone you find yourself thinking about all the time; the person you are completely infatuated with**

 

 

~-~

 

 

That first small talk about loneliness was the start of a close friendship between Ray and Joel. They started talking to each other more, going to lunch together and every time Ray had a break he’d be in Joel and Adam’s office, hanging out with Joel or Joel would hang around the Achievement Hunter office. They started texting each other next and soon enough that moved on to visiting each other’s apartments for game nights and sleeping over when they stayed too late. They started going to the movies and out to other fun places together. They didn’t think much of the new friendship they had but apparently, their friends thought otherwise. The teasing started after a certain let’s play.

 

 

“Ray, did you see Jurassic World yet?”

 

 

It was during a Minecraft let’s play when Michael asked him the innocent question and Ray answered him with an answer he thought was just as innocent. “Oh, yeah. Me and Joel watched it the other day.”

 

 

Geoff gave an overly exaggerated gasp “You left the house for Joel and a movie?”

 

 

Ray shrugged “Yeah. The movie was good. Spoiler alert there were dinosaurs.”

 

 

He grinned as Michael and Gavin started laughing.

 

 

“Too soon!” Ryan wailed from his couch and Jack laughed as well

 

 

“Yeah you dick! I was gonna watch that movie now you’ve ruined it!”

 

 

Gavin squawked out his laugh as he yelled “sOILED IT!” sending everyone into a fit of laughter.

 

 

After they calmed down a bit, the conversation moved on to weekend plans. “What about you X-Ray?” Gavin called out, realizing everyone had told what they were going to do except for him.

 

 

“Oh I dunno yet. Me and Joel might have another game night or something.”

 

 

Geoff cut in before anyone else could say anything. “You two need to go ahead and f*ck already, god d*amn.”

 

 

Ray hid his unexpected blush well and his voice didn’t waver as he laughed “That’s a little extreme.”

 

 

Michael giggled “Really? Is it Ray? You two spend every waking minute together!”

 

 

Ray didn’t even look at Michael as he said “Naaah.” And the conversation moved on the other things.

 

 

After that let’s play, the teasing started every time Ray would talk about Joel and vice versa. They just brushed it off at first, being two of the only people that weren’t in a relationship at the company, it made sense that they would want to spend time together instead of being a third wheel. So their friendship continued to get stronger as the time went on, despite to constant teasing from the others. Joel and Ray started spending weekends at each other’s apartments and they went out to eat together for dinner as well as lunch. But then everything changed when Joel came into work one morning, quiet and distant.

 

 

Ray knew something was wrong when Joel didn’t stop by the Achievement Hunter office to say hello to him on the way to his office or even text him anything. So when lunch time came around, Ray set off to find his best friend, different possibilities of what had Joel upset running through his brain a mile a minute. He checked Joel and Adam’s office first, finding Adam taking a huge bite out of a just as huge sandwich. “Hey Adam. You’ve seen Joel?”

 

 

Adam held up one finger as he chewed up the bite he just took and swallowed it. “Hey Ray. Yeah, I think he went up to the roof. He’s been acting a little weird today.”

 

 

Ray nodded “Yeah. I noticed it too. Well, thanks Adam. I’m gonna go see what’s up with him. Enjoy your lunch.”

 

 

Adam nodded in thanks and took another bite of his sandwich as Ray closed to door behind him. Ray didn’t take his time going up to the roof, sighing in relief when he saw Joel sitting in the middle of it. He didn’t speak as he walked over and sat down next to Joel, who didn’t acknowledge his presence at first. They sat in silence for a long 5 minutes before Joel finally spoke, his voice rusty with disuse. “I’m sorry.” Ray frowned and looked at him. Joel didn’t turn away from the sky though as he continued “My uh- my mom-“ He paused as he brought a fist up to cover his mouth, looking like he was trying hard not to cry. “F*ck..It gets harder to say every time.” Ray’s frown deepened and he slid a little closer to Joel, so that their knees were touching, as he grabbed Joel’s free hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Joel took a deep breath, calming down a bit at just Ray’s touch. “She has cancer.” He finally whispered and like a leak in a faucet, the tears came slowly at first before Joel was sobbing quietly into Ray’s hoodie. Ray hugged him close, rubbing circles in his back as he cried and slowly Joel calmed down and ended up with his head in Ray’s lap as he laid down facing the sky, with Ray going back and forth between staring at Joel and messing with his hair. Ray didn’t want to think about how he wanted to do this every day, be this close to Joel every day and Joel didn’t want to think about how perfectly Ray’s hand fit in his; but they thought about it anyway as they sat staring into the sky.

 

 

The comfortable silence that had fallen between them was ruined by the roof door creaking open. “Hey, love birds! Lunch is over and we need Ray to finish recording.” Jack’s head popped out of the crack in the door.

 

 

“Alright, alright. I’m coming.” Ray was honestly kinda sad he’d have to leave Joel, after they hadn’t seen each other all day but work was work and it needed to be done. But he didn’t want to think like that so he smiled down at the now pouting Joel “Come on, I gotta go.”

 

 

Joel pouted more “But I’m comfortable!”

 

 

He whined, making Ray laugh as a light blush covered his cheeks. “Of course you are. Now up! I’ll see you later, alright?”

 

 

Joel finally sat up and smiled back at him. “Yeah. We still doing dinner?”

 

 

Ray nodded standing up and brushing off the back of his khaki shorts. “Yep!” Ray grinned and walked over to the door, Joel stayed sitting on the ground watching him leave with a soft smile. “I’ll see you later.” Ray turned to look back at Joel and stopped at the smile Joel was giving him. A stray thought of how beautiful he looked with the sun setting in the background made it’s way into Ray’s head but he put that thought away for another day.

 

 

“Yeah. See ya later Ray.” Joel watched him with that same smile, still thinking about Ray’s hand in his and the warmth next to him. Ray smiled back at him and with the click of the door, Ray was gone.

 

 

Joel sighed and looked out at the sunset after Ray left. He thought back to Ray’s knee touching his and Ray’s hand in his and he swore he could still feel the warmth from him. A soft smile made it’s way on to Joel’s face before he chuckled to himself. “F*ck. Everyone was right. It just took me a while to see it, I guess.” For Joel there was no denial stage, he just looked out at the setting sun with thoughts of Ray’s smile and laugh running through his head and smiled wide as he realized what everyone had been telling them all along.  

 

 

~-~

 

 

After that dinner, it started slowly for Ray. At first it was just a few stray thoughts about Joel in different situations. But like a snowball rolling down a hill, the thoughts got more and more frequent each day until suddenly Joel was only thing on his mind every day. Without Ray fully knowing, he’d fallen more and more with each thought that crossed his mind. It didn’t dawn on him until Michael pulled him aside one day.

 

 

“Ray, we can all see what’s happening. Even Joel, trust me I talked to him already. Do you really like Joel as just a friend? Before you answer think long and hard about how you feel about Joel and how you treat him compared to us then give me your answer.”

 

 

This caught Ray off guard. He’d never really put much thought into his feelings for Joel. He’d just thought it was normal behavior for friends but as he thought about what he was like before he and Joel became friends and after, he realized that he would never leave his apartment for much but anything Joel suggested they went out and did. Ray knew he didn’t like crowds but when he was with Joel it was just the two of them and he could go through any crowd. And to top it off, he talks to Joel more than all the other Achievement Hunters combined. And the more he thought about it the funnier it got until he was laughing loudly. Michael raised a brow at him confused by this reaction until Ray started to speak through his chuckles. “You all were right!” He giggled to himself as he wiped away a few stray tears “How did I not see it before?” He laughed some more before he turned to go find Joel but not before he yelled “Thanks Michael!” over his shoulder and turning the corner to Joel’s office, leaving a confused but highly amused Michael behind. Ray was more happy than he was nervous as he strolled down the hall. He wasn’t that worried because he thought about how much happier Joel had gotten throughout their friendship. He thought about how much Joel went out with him and cancelled plans with other friends just to spend time with him. And as he stopped in front of Joel’s office he thought about that moment on the roof a few weeks ago and let every single thought he pushed away before pass through his mind as he knocked on the office door. There was a moment of shuffling before Joel stuck his head out of the office door, smiling wide when he saw who was standing there and Ray couldn’t help but to return his smile.

 

 

“Hey Ray, come on in.” Joel stepped aside and let Ray into the office and Ray sighed in relief internally when Adam wasn’t there. He took a seat at Adam’s desk and Joel took a seat as his as he grinned over at Ray. “So what brings you to my neck of the woods? Before dinner time too! I normally have to pull you from your computer.”

 

 

Ray chuckled a bit before he said “Well I had something I wanted to talk about with you.”

 

 

Joel nodded “Alright, go ahead.”

 

 

Ray took a deep breath before he started “I just had a talk with Michael and he helped me notice some things. I don’t know if you’ve noticed it or not but we’re so different now..like I wouldn’t have ever left my apartment as much as I do now and every time it’s with you. I’m not complaining or anything, quite the opposite actually. I realized that you’ve been the only thing I think about lately and I just wanted to say that I think I like you more than a friend.” Ray bit his lip as he looked up at Joel, a little surprised at just how big Joel’s smile was.

 

 

“I think I like you more than a friend too, Ray.”

 

 

Ray blushed as Joel stood and held out a hand for Ray to take. Ray grabbed it and Joel intertwined their fingers, pulling Ray up out of the chair and back up to the roof. The sun was just setting as they made it up there and Joel took a seat, pulling Ray into his lap in one fluid motion. Ray got comfortable in Joel’s lap, leaning his head on Joel’s chest as he legs dangled over Joel’s crossed ones. They sat in silence for a while before Joel looked down at Ray, catching his attention. Ray was having trouble keeping his eyes off of Joel’s lips and Joel smiled, drawing Ray’s attention to his lips again as he leaned in and pressed their lips together. Ray was still with shock for a moment before he returned Joel’s kiss, wrapping his arms around Joel’s neck as Joel’s arms wrapped around Ray’s waist. Their kiss was slow and soft and they both felt a warm, fuzzy feeling rise up in their stomachs. They parted when oxygen became necessary, both of them breathing hard and smiling as they pulled away.

 

 

“Ray, I think I love you.”

 

 

And Ray couldn’t do anything but smile back at Joel as he said “I think I love you too.”

 

 

And as they pulled each other into another kiss, Ray thought about his new answer to that same little question. “I definitely didn’t have any idea why I came to Texas or what I was looking for but I do know that I found exactly where I belong, right here with my family away from home and my boyfriend.”

 

 

~-~

 

 


End file.
